


Sunshine

by insaneshadowfangirl



Series: Alterfell; The Story of a Girl [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: A bunch f people were dead, All tags from castle apply, Alterfell, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Asgore is Papyrus, Branding, Forced Pregnancy, M/M, Mpreg, Multi, Papyrus is king, Post king papyrus, Post-Undertale Neutral Route - King Papyrus Ending, Rape, Sans is in the ruins, Sins, Timeline Shenanigans, Toriel is Sans, altertale, but they got better, dammit Sora, noncon, raaaape, sequel to Castle, skelepreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-20 01:13:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 20
Words: 27,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7385107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insaneshadowfangirl/pseuds/insaneshadowfangirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The ninth human has fallen into the Underground, but there is no way out...</p><p>... Is there?</p><p>Sequel to Castle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Somebody Told Me

**Author's Note:**

> Ugh, here we go again...

Sans stood at the doorway to the underground, well aware of the absurdity of the situation, of the ever increasing parallels between himself and the old Queen.

 

There was a knock on the door, and a playful (as playful as anyone got in this world, at any rate) female voice called, “Knock, knock!”

 

Sans grinned. “heh. who's there?”

 

“Opportunity!” the girl called.

 

“that's impossible, kid. opportunity doesn't knock twice.” 

 

She dissolved into giggles. “Good one, Mister!”

 

“have i ever mentioned that you remind me a lot of someone else i used to meet at this door?” Sans asked abruptly. It was true. She reminded him a lot of Queen Toriel... Her voice even sounded similar, and she had a lot of the same speech quirks, like rarely using contractions. But she was definitely younger, and Toriel was dead and gone, anyway. He'd buried her dust himself.

 

“Is that so? Might I ask who?”

 

“you might, but i'm afraid it's a secret, kid.”

 

She scoffed. “Whatever.” 

 

Sans huffed out a breath through his teeth. “Why can't orphans play baseball?”

 

“I don't know, why?” The girl asked, getting back into their usual rhythm of bad jokes.

 

“They've never known what home is.”

 

She actually cackled. “I  _love_  that one! I can't wait to tell my brother!”

 

Sans shook his head in puzzlement. She, whoever she was, reminded him a lot of himself. And Toriel. It was so strange.

 

“Speaking of my brother, I'd better get home before he comes hunting for me.  Good night, Mister!”

 

“g'nite, kiddo.” Sans paused. “wait... before you go...” 

 

“Yeah?”

 

This had been weighing on his mind for weeks now, ever since Sophie had fallen into the Underground and come to stay with him. “... if... if a human ever comes through this door, and they don't hurt anyone... maybe you could keep an eye on them? maybe protect them from the king?” It was a lot to ask, but Toriel had once asked similar from him, and now he understood why. Even after a few short weeks, the little brat had wormed her way into his soul.

 

There was nothing from the other end of the door for a moment, and Sans feared he had upset her. But then...

 

“If they truly mean no harm... Then I will watch over them.”

 

“thank you. have a good night, kiddo.”

 

“... You too, Mister.” He could hear her boots crunching in the snow as she walked off.

 

With a soft sigh, Sans headed back upstairs. Sophie was seated in the living room, an avalanche of legos spread across the floor around her. “careful, blondie. If i step on one of those, i'm gonna have a bone to pick with you... right after i pick the lego out from between my bones.”

 

Sophie snickered. “Good one, Sans.”

 

“tibia honest, kid, i'm completely serious.”

 

“I know.” She laughed.

 

“it's bedtime anyway, brat.”

 

“Awww...” The little girl pouted. “Do I gotta?”

 

“yup.”

 

“Fiiiine...” she got to her feet with minimal grumbling and headed to her room.

 

Sans was glad Toriel had so many kids' things. It made taking care of one much easier. 

 

At the same time, though, he could see it in the kid's eyes. Sophie was getting bored of the Ruins. She was getting homesick. It was only a matter of time before she would want to strike out, to try and find her own way out of the underground.

 

And he didn't know if he was strong enough to stop her.

 

1234567890

 

Tori threw her jacket onto the couch, carelessly. “Gore, I'm home!”

 

A fluffy-eared head stuck out of her brother's room. “Where the hell were you, Tori?!” 

 

Tori shrugged. “Around.”

 

“I was about to fuckin' call Undyne.” Gore snapped, coming out onto the landing.

 

His sister rolled her eyes. “I can take care of myself, you know.”

 

“Well if you insist on being Miss Independent, I'll just keep this butterscotch-- GAH!”

 

Tori was suddenly right in front of him.  

 

“Give. Asshole.” The bottle was duly pressed into her hand. 

 

“Sheesh.” 

 

“I'm going to bed. And yes, I will be there for my shift tomorrow.” Tori stormed off to her room.

 

“Must be that time of the month.” Gore muttered, then dodged the expected fireball. “Missed, bitch!”

 

Good thing they'd gotten the house fireproofed years ago.

 

1234567890

 

Gaster frowned. Things were not going to plan, and he  _despised_  when things didn't go to plan.

 

For one, he was currently a flower. 

 

For two, the flower that contained the conciousness of Prince Asriel was  _not_  a flower any longer. He'd somehow regained his own body, full-grown and healthy as if he'd grown under his mother's loving care. 

 

For three, he'd  _seen_ , watching from the Void, the deaths of Captain Undyne, of his successor as the Royal Scientist, of the King and Queen, and of the ghost possessing the robot.

 

But yet all of them were perfectly alive. 

 

And not a single person thought it was at all strange.

 

It seemed only he, the former-flower-Prince, and Sans remembered how it was before the flower-Prince returned to the underground. Everyone else seemed to believe that Papyrus had always been the King. In addition, Sans had no reason to know it was any different, holed up in the Ruins as he was. Though the resurrected Toriel and Asgore seemed to be occupying the place Sans and Papyrus usually did in each universe he'd watched. 

 

It was a conundrum. A puzzle...

 

... A chance to have some fun after stars-knew-how-long he'd been stuck in the void. 

 

If he was going to be the soulless flower in this world, he may as well enjoy it. 

 

1234567890

 

The next morning, Lux the Froggit took Sophie out to play around the various puzzles between Home and the Hole. 

 

The Ruins was a nice place, full of nice people (even if they were kind of weird and always referred to Sans as Queen), but Sophie wanted to see the sun again. She didn't really have any family-- it was just her and her uncle Jack, who was kind of flighty and immature -- But she still missed the surface. Sans had told her there was no way out because to go through the barrier you needed both a human soul and a monster soul. And he'd said that monster souls disappear right away after a monster dies. Unless the monster was a Boss Monster. 

 

According to Sans, the last human to come through the Underground had killed the only two Boss monsters there were. So there seemed to be no way for her to leave.

 

And Sans said that the world outside the Ruins was a very bad place, where it was Kill or be Killed and the monsters outside of the Ruins would do anything for her soul. 

 

But Sophie was a resourceful little girl, and she was determined to go home, somehow. She could make friends with all the monsters, she could find a way to get to the surface! A way to free them all! She was certain of it!

 

It wouldn't be easy. But it would be worth it. 

 

She just had to leave the Ruins, first. 

 

 


	2. You Can Let Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finish up the Ruins as Sophie's journey into the Underground officially begins!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff is still owned by the owners of stuff.

When Sophie came back Home for her lunch, Sans was surprised to see the determined expression she wore. He was less surprised to hear her request. (Disappointed, afraid, saddened, yes, but not surprised). He'd known it was coming. He'd just hoped there would be a bit more time to prepare...

 

"Sans... How do I leave the Ruins?"

 

He shook his head. "you can't, sophie." It was a pointless argument. But he had to try, he couldn't just hand her over to his brother like he'd handed over his freedom. He couldn't let this adorable, innocent little girl suffer the ways he had...

 

"You're lying." She said softly, her big green eyes looking across the table at him accusingly. 

 

"there is a way out." Sans clarified, though the words were like acid in his jaw. "but you can't go, kid. the monsters out there... they'll kill you. without so much as giving you a chance."

 

"But I want to go home!"

 

Sans felt frustrated tears at the corners of his eye sockets. "kid, you won't even make it to the barrier. there are too many things that will  _kill_   _you_  without remorse between here and there. and even if you made it to the castle... the king would tear you apart." He pushed away from the table and stood. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He wasn't going to be able to coax her to stay, much as he wished he could. But there was another option. 

 

He could destroy the door, create a small cave in and seal the rocks together with magic. He wouldn't be able to talk to the girl on the other side anymore, but Sophie would be safe.

 

And that's what he wanted. 

 

1234567890

 

Sophie frowned, not expecting Sans to get so upset. She knew he thought it was bad out there, but she was a big girl, she could take care of herself. She'd had to for most of her life (though it was wonderful to finally have someone to take care of  _her_...).

 

Feeling a bit suspicious of Sans's abrupt departure, Sophie hopped down from the table and followed him. Into the entrance hall, down the stairs she'd been told not to go past, and into a wide open hallway. 

 

"kid." Sans wasn't looking at her, but was walking briskly away from the stairs, towards a bend in the hallway. "go back upstairs."

 

Sophie followed resolutely. 

 

She heard Sans sigh. 

 

1234567890

 

The kid was still following him. Of course she was. 

 

He wished he were stronger. Not just physically (though Boss had always taken full advantage of how weak he was). Emotionally (and Boss had absolutely ruined him, even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone save himself). Even now, his resolve was wearing down. What was the point? If the kid really wanted out, she would just end his miserable life. 

 

But... 

 

He could hear the patter of her little feet dogging his footsteps. Stars... He was such a fool. This would never work. He wanted to just give up.

 

Those thoughts, though, came from a lifetime of being told he was useless, of being lambasted for doing everything wrong, of being abused for things he couldn't help. And so he pushed past them as best he could. "sophie." He tried to inject a bit of sternness into his tone. If the way his voice wavered was any indication, it didn't work as well as he could've hoped. "you're not the first human to fall underground. there were eight others before you. none of them survived. they came. they left the ruins. and they died." It wasn't a lie. Frisk had died repeatedly during their time in the Underground. "please... just go to your room." 

 

1234567890

 

Sophie almost faltered. Sans's voice was full of real pain. She wondered if he'd tried to care for the other humans that fell like he had her. 

 

But...

 

She had to at least try to go home. 

 

So she continued to trot after him, turning another corner. 

 

"do you know what is at the end of this hall, kid?"

 

"No." Sophie responded softly. 

 

"it's the exit to the ruins." Sans paused, glancing back at her for the first time. His eye sockets were dark, lacking the little white pupils that she'd thought were so cute. His sharp teeth were pulled into a frown, the golden fake shining in the light from the oil lamps decorating the walls. "i'm going to seal it, permanently."

 

Sophie frowned as well, shaking her head as she sped up to walk alongside him. 

 

"please just... go play. go finish that lego fort, go draw... read a book... i... i know you want to go... but..."

 

They turned another corner.

 

There was a big red set of arched double doors at the end of the hall, with the same odd symbol as Sans's robes emblazoned on them. Sans stopped just in front of them, head down and shaking ever so slightly. Sophie could hear his bones clacking together. 

 

"... you're not gonna give up, huh, bucko?" He let out a humorless little chuckle. 

 

"No."

 

"... so be it." Sans raised his head, and the human girl gasped. One of his eyes had a single, glowing red pupil. Magic swirled around him. "if you're so determined to go out there and find a way to get home, then prove to me you're strong enough to survive!"

 

There was a soft ting, and Sophie was surrounded by a bright red aura. Just in front of her chest, a small red heart appeared. 

 

The Fight had begun. 

 

It wasn't the first time Sophie found herself facing the battle screen. Lux had taught her the basics of combat; Fighting, Acting, and Sparing.

 

She had just never expected to be Fighting Sans.

 

She pressed the Act button without hesitation, ignoring the Fight button entirely. Around her, the notes of a fast, upbeat musical number echoed.

 

-Act

 

*Check

 

_**Sans Serif ATK 1 DEF 1** _

 

_***He doesn't want to give you a bad time.** _

 

Sophie ducked under and around several thrown bones, but they just seemed to keep coming and coming and _coming_ , an endless stream of attacks that, while only dealing one damage a hit, were starting to wear her down via the Thousand Papercuts method of fighting.

 

But she stood her ground, gritting her teeth. She'd have to be faster next time.

 

-Act

 

*Talk

 

*You try to reason with Sans. He seems to be crying.

 

*You don't think he's in the mood for conversation.

 

Behind her caretaker, several massive bone... heads, of some kind of dragon-like creature appeared out of thin air. Light briefly built in their gaping maw's, and Sophie realized abruptly what was about to happen, just in time to throw herself to the side and into a roll that allowed her to land on her feet and briefly stare in shock at the scorch marks on the carpet when the beams had fired.

 

 _Whoa_.

 

Okay, so talking didn't work. She had little doubt that trying again wouldn't yield any better of a result. And she didn't have any other options on her act screen... She went back to the main screen.

 

*Sans is crying tears of frustration.

 

So Acting was no longer an option. There was no way in h-e-double-toothpicks she was going to use Fight, so that left...

 

-Mercy

 

Sans's name wasn't yellow. But she remembered Lux mentioning that sometimes, if you wanted to end a confrontation peacefully, you had to spare people who weren't ready to accept it.

 

*Spare

 

Sans frowned. “what're ya doin', kiddo? fight me or run!”

 

Sophie was more ready for the barrage of bones this time, and she weaved easily in between them, humming along with the catchy battle theme. She still got nicked a couple times, but it was much better than the last.

 

-Mercy

 

*Spare

 

Sans's frown only deepened. But he was shaking again, staring at her in confusion and a little fear, his single glowing red pupil watching her warily. “kid... you'll never survive like that out there.”

 

The bones came again, and Sophie dove to the side, expecting the big skull beams instead. But...

 

Was it just her, or were the attacks skirting around her?

 

She sat still on the torn carpet, looking up at him, and not a single attack hit.

 

*Sans seems to be sad.

 

-Mercy

 

*Spare

 

Much to Sophie's surpise, Sans dropped to his knees and started sobbing. “c-c'mon, kid... i'll take good care of ya, i promise. p-please... d-don't throw your life away like this... i'll make you happy...

 

She stepped towards him slowly, wary of another attack but not willing to leave him upset.

 

-Mercy

 

*Spare

 

Sans laughed, and it was a soft, bitter thing. “g-guess b-boss was right... i'm useless... i can't even protect myself, how could i have thought i would be able to protect ya, kid?”

 

-Mercy

 

*Spare

 

Sans took a shaky breath. “i'm sorry.” Though his head was in his hands, face obscured by the small bones, tears still dropped down it. “i'm so, so sorry...”

 

Sophie placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling the bone through his robe sleeve. “it's okay, Daddy.” She said softly, kneeling to be at his level. Sans's crying doubled, and she worried she'd upset him.

 

But a pair of bony arms wrapped around her, and Sans clung to the little human.

 

“I've never had somebody to take care of me, Daddy...” Sophie muttered softly. “It's always just been me and my uncle and he's not really very good at it... But I'm happy to have met you, because I never had somebody who I wanted to be my daddy before. So thank you...”

 

There it was, a yellow name.

 

*Spare

 

You won! You got 0 XP and 0 Gold.

 

Sans sniffed. “kid, i'm hardly a good role model... i'm bad to the bone.”

 

Sophie giggled. “I think you're just bonely, Daddy.”

 

Sans snorted. “sophie... promise, swear to me you'll be careful...”

 

“I swear. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

 

“a cupcake?”

 

She snickered. “It's a Pinkie Promise. You have to keep those _forever_.”

 

Sans nodded tiredly. “c-could you wait here a sec? i want to grab something for you...”

 

Sophie nodded slowly, not thinking he was going to try and stop her anymore. Sans stood, still trembling, and wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his robe before rushing down the hall. He returned barely a few minutes later, much faster than she was expecting, with something made of black leather and white fur slung over his arm.

 

He handed it to her, and she held it up. It was a heavy leather jacket, lined with fluffy white fur on the inside. It had a golden zipper, and looked to be a bit big for her. And for Sans, for that matter.

 

“lux had it made for me a little while after i came here, but...” His voice shook slightly. “... i have no reason to wear it. and past here is Snowdin; it's very, very cold.” He gave her a shaky, wan smile. “you'll get better use out of it than me.”

 

He helped her into the warm garment, ruffling her hair once she was all zipped up.Sophie pulled the hood up and tightened it, liking the way the leather and fluffy fur obscured everything but her eyes.

 

“Thank you.”

 

Sans nodded slightly. “be careful, kid... please...”

 

Sophie nodded brightly, impulsively throwing her arms around Sans before skipping over to the doors and, after undoing the many locks, out of the Ruins entirely.

 

1234567890

 

As the door swung shut behind the girl, Sans slid down the wall until he'd curled up on the floor, and began to cry. He cried until he couldn't produce any more magical tears, and he continued to sob afterwards, until he finally fell unconscious, too emotionally spent to remain awake.

 

Several hours passed before Lux found him, and, with the help of several other monsters, got their Queen tucked into his bed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys should feel privileged. This was originally gonna be half as long and end on a cliffie. But I wanted to finish the Ruins in two chapters.


	3. One Step at a Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sophie meets a new friend, but there are those that are always watching...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NO LOWERCASE TALKING THIS CHAPTER. THANK CHAOS.

Sophie shivered in surprise as the doors swung shut behind her. It was cold!

 

She was very grateful for the jacket Sans had given her. It was a little big on her, but all the warmer for it. She shoved her hands in the pockets and tromped through the snow, already missing the warmth of the Ruins. 

 

Cold as it was, the little forest was much brighter than the little town behind the door. And it was very pretty, with heaps of glittering snow weighing doe the tree branches above her. Sophie deftly stepped over a thick branch and kept walking.

 

Ahead was a large gap, with a small foot bridge and a gate (at least, she thought it was a gate. The openings were extremely wide. She could walk right through!) across it. 

 

Crack! 

 

The human whirled around at the noise, shrieking in surprise. 

 

There was nobody there. 

 

"H-hello?" 

 

No response. 

 

She made to turn around, but caught sight of the branch she'd just stepped over. 

 

It was cracked cleanly down the middle. 

 

With a frightened squeak, the human child stumbled backwards, turning and rushing to the bridge. Just as she got there, though, Sophie felt a... presence... right behind her, and stopped cold.

 

There was a light, feminine chuckle behind her. “Human~. Do you not know how to properly greet a new friend?” Sophie shivered as the crooning voice continued, “Turn around, child, and shake my hand.”

 

Very slowly, dreading what she would see, Sophie turned to face the other. Or rather the other's outstretched hand, because she was at least two heads taller than Sophie. The child tentatively took the white furred paw being offered and shook it, looking its owner up and down. She seemed to be a goat monster of some kind, with red and black ribbons done up in her fluffy ears and a black leather cardigan with an open front, lined with gray fur on the inside. She had a red dress under it, cinched at the waist with a belt of yet more black leather (did this place only know the colors black, red, and gold?) and a big gold, circular buckle in the center. She also had big clunky boots on (black leather with red accents. What a surprise.). She regarded Sophie with cool red eyes, and the little human gulped reflexively. “H-hi, Miss Goat Lady. I'm S-Sophie?”

 

The monster laughed, and Sophie couldn't really tell if it was mocking or not. “You are very adorable. Too bad that is not really a _good_ thing down here, child.”

 

Sophie crossed her arms. “It's polite to introduce yourself after somebody tells you their name.” She snapped, feeling self-conscious.

 

Another laugh, this one seeming to be of delighted surprise. “Ah! So you have some spunk, do you not?! I think I may like you more than I had previously believed. However...” The goat lady (who, for all she talked like an old person, was probably only a teenager) bent down to look Sophie directly in the eyes. “You will find that manners will not get you far, here in the Underground. It is, after all, kill or be killed. But I think I will not waste my time on killing you-- it is worth far more than that.”

 

Sophie glared defiantly into the goat lady's eyes. She was _not_ afraid! … Well, maybe she was a little afraid. But she wasn't about to show it.

 

“Eye contact, good. You are very brave for a snot-nosed little human. I find myself impressed.” Sophie blinked as her stats were checked. “' _Sophie Bennett, ATK 1, DEF 0 XP 0, LV 0. Nightmares are only dreams you don't believe in.'_ Interesting.” She stood straight. “I am Tori. It is, I suppose, a pleasure to meet you.”

 

Sophie grinned. Tori was big and scary and kind of mean, but she hadn't tried to kill her yet. That was a good thing, right?

 

“Am I correct in assuming you came through the door?”

 

Sophie nodded. Tori's expression seemed to firm. “Come along then, child. Let us get you somewhere warm and safe. I have a promise to keep.” Belatedly realizing Tori had never released her hand, Sophie trotted after her, practically being tugged along the path.

 

1234567890

 

Alphys rushed through the halls of the castle, ignoring the various guards and servants that tried to stop her. She had an urgent message for King Papyrus, and there would be hell to pay if she didn't deliver it right away!

 

“Sire!” She burst into the throne room, where the tall, imposing skeleton king sat regally, holding a meeting with... oh fuck, _Undyne_. A bright blush spread across her face against her will.

 

No, Alphys! You gotta focus!

 

She slid to the side as several conjured spears and bones flew directly at her head.

 

“What could possibly be important enough to warrant you barging into my meeting with all the grace of an imbecile!?” King Papyrus snapped at her. Undyne looked ready to tear her head off, and it was _so_ hot-- FOCUS!

 

“Sire, you told me to inform you immediately, regardless of what you were doing, if there was any activity on the cameras near the Ruins!”

 

Papyrus looked shocked for a split second before he composed himself. “Well? Out with it, girl!”

 

Alphys fumbled nervously with her glasses, removing them and wiping them to clean off the sweat from her run. “Roughly ten minutes ago, a human exited the door leading from Snowdin Forest to the Ruins and proceeded to begin to walk towards the town.” She hastily slapped her spectacles back onto her face. “They were wearing a black jacket. But that door that;'s usually locked? Well, now it's kinda _not_ locked. The kid didn't lock it behind them, and the cameras didn't pick up anyone locking it from the other side.”

 

Papyrus stood. “Is it still unlocked?!”

 

“As far as I know; I left as soon as I saw it happen.”

 

“Captain Undyne!”

 

The fish woman saluted, and Alphys nearly swooned.

 

“Gather together a team of our most trusted Royal Guards, and send them to Snowdin Forest as quickly as possible. I think it's about time my _dear_ Queen came out of his hidey-hole.”

 

“Yes, Sire!” She barked, bolting from the room.

 

“Now, Alphys. Show me this camera feed.”

 

“Of course, Sire. If you'll just follow me to my lab, I'll show you everything.”

 

1234567890

 

In the True Lab, a being that was once known as Asriel Dreamurr smirked. Soon... Soon all of his careful plotting, his cherry-picked modifications of the universe's numerical code, the destruction of the six human souls... Soon, it would all pay off, because he would get to see _them_ again.

 

What did it matter that he was playing god with people he'd once considered his friends, his family? Who cared if some memories were twisted and warped until the common people didn't know how things had once been. What was the problem with bringing back the dead yet changing their personalities to suit his needs when it served his ultimate goal?

 

No, none of it mattered as much as Frisk smile, as their laughter, as their hands running through his fur... He would have his best friend again soon.

 

Who cared how many lives were destroyed along the way?

 

1234567890

 

“So where are we going?”Sophie asked, looking up at Tori.

 

“We are going to town. It is a fairly long walk, but, luckily for you, child, I know a shortcut.” Tori proceeded to walk directly into a tree.

 

Sophie flinched, expecting to crash, but blinked and they were suddenly walking out of an alley, Tori stopping briefly to make sure their hood was as tight as possible, hiding most of their face. She then dragged the young girl towards a large building with a neon sign proclaiming it to be 'Chillby's Shitty Bar'. Scandalized as she was by the blatant swearing, she couldn't help a small giggle.

 

“Quiet, child. You do not wish to attract the wrong sort of attention.”

 

Sophie nodded agreeably as Tori pushed the door open, leading her straight to the bar and lifting her onto a stool. The monster slid onto the one beside Sophie's, looking down the bar at the purple fire man wiping a glass carelessly.

 

“Yo, fuckface!” She called. “Give me two burgers and a butterscotch. And some milk for the midget!”

 

Sophie frowned at being called a midget, though there were several chuckles from the other patrons.

 

After a moment, the fire man slid two burgers, a squeeze bottle of brown-orange stuff, and a tall glass of milk down the bar.

  
“Here you are, child. Eat.” It wasn't a suggestion, it was a command. But Sophie hadn't finished her lunch and was pretty hungry, so she dug in eagerly, sparing a moment to thank Tori.

 

Surely this world couldn't be so bad?

 


	4. Russian Roulette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Got a real good feeling somethin' bad is gonna happen~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not putting this on FFN until morning. 
> 
> Too tired.

Sans sighed, gnawing absently on the tip of the nozzle of his mustard bottle. One hand held the sour condiment, the other a watering can full of nutrient water for the golden flowers. With no sun to feed them, the flora in the Ruins needed special care to florish.

It was simple busywork. Distracting. But that was okay; he needed distracting.

Six hours since Sophie had left the Ruins. Was she still alive? Was she hurt? Had the girl on the other side of the door decided to help her?

Was her soul being presented to his brother at that very moment?

Stars, he hoped not.

Maybe she was lucky. Maybe she'd made it this far. Maybe she even had the same ability as Frisk, and could come back if she died.

Maybe, maybe, maybe.

He wished he could just blip out and check on her. Just for a minute. But it wasn't safe. Here in the Ruins, Papyrus couldn't get to him. But the moment he stepped out, he was vulnerable. And he'd be no help to Sophie if Boss caught him.

So he could only worry, and try to distract himself from it. And thus, it was busywork for him.

Yet he couldn't stop thinking about their 'battle'. Some of the things he'd said... Stars, he had sounded so much like his brother. He'd never felt anything quite like the wave of utter despair that had washed over him upon realizing that he was trying to do the same thing to Sophie as Papyrus had done to him-- locking her away for her own 'protection'. Granted, circumstances were much different. Sophie had free range of the Ruins, could talk to whoever she wanted to, and do whatever she wished so long as she didn't hurt herself or others. Sans had been isolated from almost everyone, and typically restricted to a few rooms, with Papyrus dictating what he could and could not do and enforcing those decisions with magic and punishments.

Still, the thought of being anything like his elder brother scared the crap out of him. Almost as much as the thought of being found by him.

So he had let her go, hoping she would find her way. What else could he do? He could've turned her soul blue and dragged her kicking and screaming up the stairs, but that would make him no better than Bo- Papyrus.

That didn't stop him from worrying, and it didn't make him feel any better. Tending to the golden flowers helped distract him a little, but tears were still slowly dripping down his cheekbones.

He was so weak. Such a crybaby.

But nobody was here to see him cry (besides Toriel and little Princess Chara, but they were long past the point of telling), so he let them fall unimpeded.

1234567890

Gore knelt in the snow, fiddling around with the activator for the tile puzzle. He had little doubt his sister had abandoned her post yet again to go suck down butterscotch topping and greasy food at that disgusting bar, but he'd yell at her later. She hadn't recalibrated her puzzles in four whole days, it was a wonder they hadn't locked up in the cold! But no; instead of doing her fucking job, Tori spent her days thinking up stupid jokes to tell to the mystery man behind the door and thinking up improvements to her baking recipes.

Not that he was complaining about that second part. Tori's cooking was to die for. Much better than anything he could make. He'd give her that much credit.

Though Gore maintained that she made way too much food with snails. Snails did not make good pie! Or soup! Or salad! Or... Anything, really! He didn't like snails. But Tori wolfed them down like a starved dog. _And_ she wouldn't let him have any dessert unless he ate all of his dinner!

Bitch!

When he was finally a Royal Guard, he'd _make_ her let him have dessert.

1234567890

Papyrus was a skeleton on a mission. After briefly looking over the tape with Alphys, he had been equal parts excite, elated, terrified, and furious.

That little human girl had skipped out of the Ruins, all bundled up in a very familiar looking coat. There had been no noises on the audio feed resembling the door locking behind her.

That meant that there was a chance it was still open.

If Sans was still alive (he _had_ to be, there was no acceptable alternative in Papyrus's mind), there was no doubt that he was hidden, either willingly or unwillingly, in the Ruins. The Royal Guard would've found him by now otherwise, with their regular searches.

But there was a chance that the reason the door hadn't been locked-- No. He would not think like that. Sans could protect himself from one tiny little girl. Even if she was a human.

But if she had hurt him, he would destroy her slowly and painfully, rather than quickly enough to just snatch her soul.

Papyrus had hurried off to meet the small squad of Guard members Undyne had arranged.

What a shock it had been to see Undyne alive and well-- and perfectly willing to obey him. After that, it hadn't taken him long to figure out that nobody remembered Asgore's reign. They seemed to think he was the King from the beginning, and many of the monsters killed by the eighth human had simply appeared as though they had never died.

It wasn't until he was approached by the former (and also supposedly fallen down) Prince, Asriel, with a request to use the Royal Labs for his own experiments that he learned _why_ , though. Considering the brat seemed to have no intention of usurping him, and was planning to try and break the barrier, he granted the request. It was more productive than dusting the other, after all.

"Sire." Undyne saluted. The team was waiting on him at the exit to Waterfall, practically bouncing in anticipation of some kills. He noted Dogamy and Dogaressa, Undyne's lieutenant, and Lesser and Greater Dog among them.

Papyrus nodded, satisfied. "Captain, you will go and ensure the Ruins are unlocked and secure the entrance. Dogamy, you and your wife will come with me; I wish to take a few moments to ask around town regarding the human. The rest of you, go with Captain Undyne. Secure the Ruins. If you can locate my Queen, do not attract his attention. I do not wish him to try and run, should we find that he has hidden willingly rather than been held these four years. If there are others in the Ruins, capture them and secure them if it is possible to do so without alerting my Queen, harm none until I have more information." He drew in a slight breath, forcing out the next words. "If you find evidence that he was previously there, but has Fallen since, you will come alert me immediately."

"Yes, Sire." Undyne saluted, but her expression was one he knew well. She had something she wished to share.

"Speak your mind, soldier."

"Your Highness," the usually overenthusiastic fish woman said slowly, "I've recently been personally training a sentry who's got a lot of potential to become a member of the Guard. Gore Dreamurr. We've talked about him before, yeah?" Papyrus nodded. He knew that 'Gore' and his sister 'Tori' were odd, slightly warped reincarnations of the old King and Queen, created by the former Prince for reasons unknown beyond his brief mention of 'fixing the universe's code'. "He's probably a good monster to interrogate regarding the human and the Ruins."

Papyrus nodded thoughtfully. "Good advice, Captain. Dismissed."

With that, Undyne and her team went to clear out the Ruins.

1234567890

Tori and Sophie had spent most of the day in the bar. It had to be going on six hours now. Sophie had been introduced to the bartender as 'Cousin Soph', who had lived in New Home until her parents killed each other in a fit of rage. She'd gone on about how lucky Soph was to have family willing to take her in, because surely she'd be free XP, otherwise. Sophie nodded along obediently, and after that most of the patrons of the bar left them be and stopped staring at the hooded girl like she was a particularly interesting bug.

Sophie had been given an impromptu lesson on the nature of 'Safe Spots', neutral ground where nobody was allowed to Fight. Chillby's was one of those places, a safe haven where people could eat and work out truces and alliances without worrying about getting stabbed in the back. Or the front.

So long as you managed to arrive at a Safe Spot, you would be free to survive just a little longer.

Sophie thought it was horrible, but didn't let on as she dug into her dinner. Tori had been steadily making her way through bottle after bottle of butterscotch topping while she talked. Now there were at least twenty plastic squeeze bottles all lined up in a row on the counter, and Sophie amused herself in between bites of her second burger by stacking them in a pyramid behind her plate.

"Hey, what's going on out there?"

Most of the bar's patrons turned to look at where the drunken rabbit teenager was pointing. Through the large windows, they could see a procession of Royal Guards, led by a tall, imposing skeleton monster that rather frightened Sophie. Resting upon the top of his skull was a gleaming crown.

And, surrounded by Guards, wearing a shining silver collar and shackles and being led by a chain leash held by the tall monster, was Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will explain how we got here. *passes out*


	5. Dirty Little Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has a Bad Time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh heh heh... 
> 
> ~~Sans why do I love your suffering?~~

Gore looked up from the puzzle controls at the sound of footsteps and gasped.

 

The King, the actual fucking King and two Royal Guards were walking straight for him. The goat monster hopped to his feet and dropped into a bow, reeling.

 

“Gore Dreamurr?” King Papyrus said in a low voice, stopping in front of him. Gore glanced up.

 

“Yes, Your Highness?” He couldn't really keep the eagerness out of his voice.

 

“Captain Undyne tells me you're the head sentry in the Snowdin area, correct?”

 

“Yes, Sire!” Gore straightened out of his bow and saluted.

 

“So if a human were to exit the Ruins, you would be alerted, correct?”

 

Gore blinked. “Assuming my sister was _doing her job_.” He grumbled irritably. “She has the station closest to the door to the Ruins, sire, but I'm afraid she has a habit of skipping out on work. It's very difficult to catch her at tit, though, without standing there, staring at her for hours on end.” He sighed. “I have not been made aware of any activity near the door recently...”

 

The King nodded imperiously. “Approximately six hours ago, a young human female was seen on the Royal cameras, headed towards Snowdin.”

 

Shit, why the fuck did Tori have to skive today of all days!? “I am sorry, Sire, I have not seen or heard anything of the sort.” The King was going to fucking kill him and it would all be Tori's damned fault! Stars, if he had a chance before he died, he was so going to beat the shit out of her.

 

Another short, sharp nod. “Indeed.” King Papyrus looked about for a moment before looking Gore directly in the eyes. “Tell, me, aside from missing the human, has there been any other activity near the door? Of any kind?”

 

Well, since Tori put him in this situation, to hell with her request he not tell anyone about her 'friend' in the Ruins. “My _fucking_ sister sometimes goes up to it on her patrol and talks to a man on the other side of the door. They've supposedly never exchanged names.”

 

“I see. And what do she and this mystery man speak of?”

 

Gore couldn't help the irritated eye roll. “Believe it or not, they mostly just exchange shitty jokes.”

 

The King went very, very still for just a moment. “Well.” He turned. “Carry on, Dreamurr. I expect you'll make the Guard very soon.”

 

The King stormed off and Gore let out a breath he didn't notice he'd been holding. He was still alive?!

 

1234567890

 

So. It was looking that Sans was definitely in the Ruins. Who the hell else would stand behind a door and tell bad jokes to some random sentry girl?

 

This was good news. Very good news. He'd have his brother back soon.

 

He stomped into the Ruins, down the hall, and into the house. Once in the house proper, he looked around, noting the pictures of the old Royal Family hanging on the walls, but also the little touches that screamed his brother lived here-- socks and trash carelessly lying about, a half-empty bottle of mustard sitting abandoned on the kitchen table... More concerning than that, though, were the toys strewn across the house, including a large construct of legos taking up a good portion of the living room floor, and the half-eaten luches sitting with that bottle of mustard, the table clearly set for two. A child's sneaker sitting on the couch.

 

Had Sans been harboring the human?

 

Well, he would find out, once he found Sans, wouldn't he?

 

 

He headed out the front door, finding Captain Undyne and most of her team standing guard over a large group of terified monsters that clearly lacked most of the... bite... monsters had outside the Ruins. Interesting.

 

“Well?” He demanded to her in an undertone.

 

“He's at the very end of the Ruins, Sire.” Undyne said quietly, apparently understanding that he didn't want any of these weak monsters to hear their conversation. “I came back as soon as I saw him, before he had a chance to notice me. The rest of the place is clear; There's a whole little self-sufficient town down here!” She sounded mildly impressed. “For weak punks, they've got it pretty good.”

 

Papyrus nodded, filing away that information for future use. “Than let us go see my darling Queen, shall we?” Without waiting for acknowledgment, the King of the Underground swept further into the cave.

 

1234567890

 

Sans bent over a particularly lonely-looking flower, making certain he didn't miss it in his watering. It was a pretty young seedling, not even blooming yet.

 

Young, like Sophie. Dammit. He felt tears well up yet again and cussed under his breath. He was never going to get her out of his brain, dammit!

 

_Click-clack, click-clack._ The sounds of somebody walking down the hall startled him. He wondered briefly what time it was, as he stood and quickly scrubbed at his eyes with his sleeve. It wouldn't do to let one of the residents see him cry, they always got terribly upset and he would feel really guilty. He put on a smile and turned to greet the newcomer--

 

Only to stop cold, the smile instantly vanishing.

 

This couldn't be happening. Not now.

 

Please (somebody, anybody), _not now_.

 

Sans's gaze rose from a very familiar pair of legs to a very familiar torso to a very, _very_ familiar face.

 

Papyrus.

 

Sans started to shake, bones rattling and clacking together as he stumbled back. “p-pap-”

 

“Sans.” His brother's voice was cold as ice and Sans actually _squeaked_ , jaw shutting with an audible click. Hearing that angry voice made it all real, shoved the fear aside with the realization that _Papyrus was right in front of him and he needed to fucking get away now, thank you_! He readied his magic to teleport, still backing away even as Papyrus stalked towards him--

 

And suddenly, something caught on the hem of his robe (a _vine_?) and he tripped, falling onto his pelvic bone and losing his concentration.

 

A hand snagged him by the back of his robe and hefted him into the air and Sans cussed loudly, thrashing in the grip even as his captor's other hand closed around his wrist bone. He was dropped onto the flower patch, his other wrist being grabbed in the now-free hand, and both arms were pinned behind his back.

 

It was far too late to teleport. If he took a shortcut while touching someone else, they would just come along for the ride.

 

As whoever was holding him adjusted their grip so both his hands were held together by one of their own, he stared up at his brother, terrified. Papyrus simply stared down at him, his eyes like black voids; no emotion. Not anger, not sadness... Somehow, it was more terrifying than Sans thought it would've been if he was furious.

 

“It's been a long time, _Sans_.”

 

“p-please-” Lightning quick, a hand snapped out and pain bloomed on Sans's cheekbone as his head snapped to the side.

 

“HOW DARE YOU RUN AWAY, HOW DARE YOU HIDE FROM ME! I WAS WORRIED YOU WERE _DEAD_!” Papyrus snarled. Sans whimpered and shrunk back towards the person holding him, feeling his bruising cheek start to warm as it pulsed with pain. “AND YET HERE YOU ARE, FUCKNG AROUND WITH FLOWERS AND FRATERNIZING WITH STRANGERS THROUGH DOORWAYS!”

 

“papyrus-”

 

“BE SILENT!” Pap-- no, he was Boss, and Sans needed to remember that, why had he thought he could think any different? Boss towered over him, and Sans nearly squeaked again, wishing he could just poof right out of existence. He shut up, though, too afraid of the consequences of disobeying. H-had Boss _always_ been this large and imposing?

 

Boss paced in front of him for a moment, carelessly stamping over Toriel's precious flowers. Sans flinched with every crushed petal. “Why?!”

 

It took Sans a moment to realize Boss was expecting an answer. “wh-why what, b-boss?”

 

That was the wrong thing to ask, as his elder brother whirled to glare at him, eyes sparking with fury. Sans found he had been wrong; Boss was _definitely_ scarier when he was mad than when he was emotionless. “WHY DID YOU LEAVE?!”

 

“i-i, uh--”

 

“ANSWER ME!”

 

“ _because you were going to lock me away again_!” Sans burst out. He was still shaking, still afraid, but Boss's continued obliviousness after having almost _two years_ to think about why Sans had left, and having Sans's hatred of being trapped in the castle practically _spelled out for him_ just boiled his marrow. How could Boss be so fucking good at puzzles, be such an efficient king, be an expert tracker, and yet have no fucking clue that Sans fucking hated being locked up even after being told _outright_!?

 

To Sans's surprise, Boss scoffed. “Like you locked yourself in the Ruins?”

 

Sans felt a blush spread across his cheekbones, no doubt highlighting his bruise. “th-that was d-different.”

 

“It doesn't matter.” Papyrus muttered. Then, louder, “I suggest you take a good look around, Sans. Because once we get home, you will not leave your room again. I will keep you _safe_ even if I have to keep you in the dungeons for the rest of your life.”

 

The finality of Boss's tone prompted Sans to begin his struggles anew, trying in vain to get away from the strong arms holding him (one still pinning his wrists, the other wrapped around his cervical vertebrae in a headlock) long enough to blip away.

 

“Sans. Be still.” Papyrus commanded, but he was so _afraid_ he didn't want to be locked up again _please_ \--

 

“If you do not stop with this pathetic struggling, I will personally kill every single monster living here in the Ruins.”

 

Sans froze, staring up at his sibling in horror. He had no doubt Boss would do it; It wouldn't even be particularly difficult.

 

“Submit. _Now_.”

 

Sans obediently went slack in the other monster's grip.

 

“Good boy.” Boss knelt in front of him and patted him on the head. For a brief moment, Sans was confused...

 

… Then Papyrus drew a very familiar set of chains out of his bag.

 

Sans nearly burst into tears. “please, no... i-i'll be g-good, i sw-w-wear...” His helpless trembling increased tenfold as the arm around his neck was moved lower to allow Boss access to his throat. “p-please i-i--”

 

“Sans.” Papyrus muttered, strangely soothingly. “It's for your own good, and you know it.” The tears began to fall as the silver and nullstone collar shut and locked around his throat with a finalizing click. Sans instantly felt a wave of cold wash over his soul and then his bones. He couldn't touch his magic; it was _there_ , but out of reach, unavailable for him to use and manipulate. His captor dropped him completely, no longer having a reason to hold him now that he couldn't blip away.

 

“Give me your wrists.”

 

Still shaking, tears still streaming down his face, Sans complied, holding them in front of himself without so much as a whimper of protest. It was pointless to fight, now. He was never going to see the glowing stones again. He would be lucky to see the outside of his rooms (or a dungeon cell).

 

Papyrus secured the shackles around Sans's wrists, and the smaller of the two noted with dismay that the chain had been shortened. The center of the chain was then linked to the ring on the front of his collar, and Sans let out a shuddering breath, huddling his arms close to his chest. Boss patted him on the head again, and Sans leaned into the touch automatically.

 

“Come on, Sans. To your feet.” Boss stood as well. “We'll have to wait for your anklets. They'll just make the walk back more difficult.”

 

Sans blinked up at him uncomprehendingly. “w-walk back?”

 

“Well, of course.” Boss said, reaching into his bag again and removing a chain leash. Sans gulped. “It would be incredibly cruel of me to hide you away without letting you see the Underground one last time, wouldn't it?”

 

Sans realized instantly what Boss wasn't saying. He was going to be paraded back to the castle, as a reminder to both Sans and to the rest of the Underground that Papyrus owned him. Sans sniffed. “d-do we r-really h-have to--?”

 

“Well, if you're really that eager to go home, I _suppose_ we could simply go through just Snowdin, and take the riverperson back to the Capital.”

 

Sans winced. It was a no-win situation. Either he shortened his last few hours of freedom, or he was forced into a long walk of shame at the end of a leash for absolutely _everyone_ to see. He took a long breath, trying to hash out the situation and figure out which was the lesser of two evils, only for a thought to pop into his head.

 

_Sophie_.

 

If they walked all the way back to the castle, the odds that Papyrus would see her (assuming she was still alive) increased massively. Sans shuddered at the thought. “i-i'd p-prefer th-that, i-if you d-don't mind, b-boss...” He mumbled submissively.

 

“Excellent.” Papyrus stood, walking off without looking at him again. Sans stumbled after him, eyes on the floor and unable to stop the tears from falling. He could hear the other person who'd been holding him following, but didn't bother to look at them. There was no point in knowing who they were.

 

There was no point in anything. All he could hope was that Papyrus would be distracted enough by finally finding him that he wouldn't care about the small human child running around the Underground.

 


	6. Sound of Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boss continues to be awful, and the shit hits the fan for Sophie and Tori.

Sans sobbed quietly at the end of his leash, trudging along behind his brother. After leading him past the monsters of the Ruins, Papyrus had been furious, realizing that each and every one of them had been an accomplice to Sans's self-imposed exile. He'd been ready to dust them all then and there, until Sans had thrown himself in between the first potential victim and his brother, pleadingly reminding Boss that he'd said he wouldn't hurt them if Sans stopped struggling.

 

Papyrus had coolly responded that he'd never said anything of the sort, and had only said he _would_ hurt them if Sans _kept_ struggling. He'd never said he wouldn't hurt them anyway.

 

And thus, the Royal Guard and the monsters of the Ruins were treated to the sight of Sans dropping to his knees and groveling at the King's feet, begging him to please, _please_ leave them be.

 

Much to the surprise of both Sans and the Guard, Papyrus said he would... If Sans proved who he belonged to right then and there.

 

It had been horrifying and humiliating, but Sans did it, and he'd have done it again and again if that was what it took. He'd serviced his brother in front of people he'd spent two years calling his friends, and in front of silently sneering guards who may have been too afraid of the King to laugh at him, but whose rising amusement and burning stares he could _feel_ on the back of his head as he sucked and bobbed his head in a manner he hadn't had to do for years.

 

And then, Papyrus had simply continued their walk like nothing had happened, casually destroying most of the furniture and decorations they passed in the house on their way to the stairs that led to the door.

 

And it would only get worse and worse, wouldn't it?

 

1234567890

 

Sophie was not a happy human. She'd tried to run for the door of the bar the moment she'd recognized Sans (Daddy!), only to be grabbed by the back of the jacket and hauled into Tori's lap.

 

“Child!” She hissed into Sophie's ear. “What in the hell do you think you are doing?”

 

“Lemme go, Tori!” She struggled against the vicegrip the monster had on her. “That's--” She blinked and, much to her surprise, they were no longer at the bar. Now they were back in the alley they'd arrived in from Tori's 'shortcut'. “--My Daddy!”

 

“What?” Tori sounded extremely confused.

 

“He lives in the Ruins and he took care of me after I fell Underground, but I wanted to find a way home so I left--”

 

“Wait, child. You say he lives in the Ruins?”

 

Sophie nodded rapidly, her hood falling down with the movement. Ahead of them, the procession of Guards began to make their way past. Tori pulled them further back into the shadows. “Yes!”

 

Tori looked up at the small skeleton, remembering all of the bone-based puns and skeleton jokes from the man on the other side of the door.

 

“Did... did he ever tell you any bad jokes?”

 

“All the time, he loves them.” Sophie stared up at her with big, soulful eyes. Tori's breath caught. “I have to help him...”

 

“... Alright, child.” Tori sighed. “Consider me an ally.”

 

*You have gained one cohort!

 

*Tori Dreamurr has joined your party!

 

_***ATK 5 DEF 5 LV 4.** _

 

_***Come my child, stay with me. I will protect you and your dreams.** _

 

“We cannot simply jump out at them and attack, however. It would be suicide.” The goat woman continued, eyeing the taller skeleton in a way that actually made Sophie fear for his life. She looked _furious_. “Our best chance is to wait until after they arrive at the castle and make our way there the long way around.”

 

“... But why would they take Sans to the castle?”

 

Tori laughed softly, and it was a bitter thing. “Two years ago, rumors stared filtering down from the capital that Queen Sans had vanished from his bed and, seemingly, the entire Underground. I can not believe I did not figure it out before now... But, yes. I have no doubt King Papyrus is taking his wayward lover home, and he probably has no intention of letting him leave.”

 

Sophie hissed, remembering waking up in the middle of the night around a week ago, to Sans screaming and crying, beating on his bedroom door until Lux belted into the house and opened it. The next morning, Sans had explained that he didn't like to be shut in anywhere. Sophie had apologized profusely for closing the door in the night, and the incident had really upset her. And from the sound of it, the tall skeleton was going to lock her Daddy up.

 

“We will have to be very careful. King Papyrus is incredibly strong, child, and he will want nothing more than to kill you and take your soul.”

 

Sophie nodded reluctantly. She couldn't help her Daddy if she were dead.

 

“Come, I will take you somewhere you can spend the evening without being seen.” She took Sophie's hand. “Please close your eyes.”

 

The human child obliged, and the pair vanished from the alleyway.

 

1234567890

 

Gore stomped into the house. “TORI!” He shouted, looking around for his sister. The basement door swung open and she stepped out, locking it behind her in a single, practiced motion.

 

“What do you want, brother?”

 

Several fireballs flew at her, and she ducked beneath them, readying her own attacks. “What the fuck are you doing, Gore?”

 

“You frigid bitch, you almost got me killed today! The King came by and demanded to know why I hadn't been alerted to the fact that a _human_ came out of the Ruins earlier!” Wait; Did Tori just _flinch_!? “You... You fucking traitor! You _saw_ her, didn't you!? Here I thought you were just incompetent and skiving as per usual, but no! _You saw her and let her go_!”

 

“So what if I did, Gore?! What are you gonna do? Kill me?” She laughed, and it sent shivers down his spine. “I'd love to see you _try_.”

 

Gore flinched. It was times like this that he was reminded, for all her incompetence as a sentry, his sister was much more powerful than he. “I'll report you to the King!”

 

“He's got his hands full at the moment.” His sister scoffed.

 

“Oh? Perhaps with your friend from the Ruins?” It was only a guess, but based on the way the King had reacted, and watching him enter the Ruins only to come out a few hours later leading somebody on a leash, he was pretty sure it was a good guess.

 

He wasn't expecting his sister's eyes to literally glow in rage, and he wasn't expecting the familiar horned goat skulls of her Dreamurr Beamers to begin to form behind her. “What did you _do_ , you fucking bastard?!”

 

Steeling himself, Gore responded, “I sold him out because you didn't report the human!”

 

“ _And you have the nerve to call **me** a traitor!?_ ” Tori screamed, raising a hand and firing. Gore ducked beneath the beams with a shriek of terror. He'd never ever seen Tori this furious! Shit, maybe taunting her wasn't a good idea... “ _At least I'd never betray **you**! I starved to put food in your ungrateful mouth, I worked myself to the _ bone _to keep a roof over our heads, I protected you from danger at my own expense, and you repay me by blabbing one of the few secrets I have to the fucking king!”_

 

Oh well. Nothing he could do now. He raised his hands, and a wall of fire sprung from the ground, surrounding his sister. She ran through it without a care, the Beamers following her, their eyes glowing menacingly. She charged a new beam and fired, at the same time he formed a stream of flame in both hands and sent it directly at her.

 

“ _ **Stop**!_ ” Suddenly, a tiny little human girl with a head of blond hair was in between them, hands spread wide and looking back and forth between them pleadingly.

 

Both attacks struck her at the same time. Smoke filled the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhhuhuhu...


	7. Whistle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An ordinary man witnesses an out-of-the-ordinary event, Boss plots to teach Sans his place, and something strange happens to Sophie.

Patrick Anderson led an ordinary life. He was in his late thirties, had a wife and three young children, and worked in an office. He was utterly unremarkable in every way.

But, eighteen months before Sophie Bennett was seperated from her classmates and fell down a chasm leading to a world filled with monsters and suffering, he was the only witness to a _very_ remarkable event.

It was three in the morning, and our Mr. Anderson was on his morning jog. Halfway through the route he took every single day was a beautiful foot bridge, high above the river Thora and with an excellent view of Mt. Ebott. Normally, that bridge was deserted.

But today, there was a teenager standing on the guardrail.

Patrick Anderson sped up in an attempt to stop them from jumping like they were no doubt planning, but the increased noise from his sneakers made the kid look up.

Blue eyes met his own brown ones, and the teenager leapt off the rail without so much as a word, plummeting into the churning water below.

Patrick called the emergency line, of course, and the police, the fire department, and the ambulances came and went, unable to retrieve the child. While they tried, though, Patrick Anderson spotted a ratty purple book bag with a letter pinned to it. He pointed it out to the officer nearby, who allowed him to open it in hopes of identifying the child.

'*To Whom It may Concern;  
My name is Frisk.  
I am alone.  
By the time you read this, I will be back with her.  
-Frisk'

Patrick Anderson was an ordinary man who witnessed an extraordinary event, even if the widest implications of what he witnessed would forever remain a mystery to him.

1234567890

Papyrus stepped into the boat, using the leash to tug Sans into his lap. Dogamy and Dogaressa joined them, one in front of the King and one in back. The rest of the Guard would be dispersing back to their posts while their King headed to New Home. He would've preferred to have Undyne with him, but he didn't want Sans to see the woman (it was impressive that she'd managed to remain unnoticed as she had) and panic. According to Asriel, Sans would almost certainly remember how things were before the universe's code had been modified, and Papyrus saw no point in him knowing things had changed. After all, what use was that knowledge for Sans when, if Papyrus had his way, his brother would never see another person beside Papyrus himself again? Better to just avoid the freakout and the panic and the explanations altogether.

And Sans hadn't stopped crying since the (amazing) blowjob in the ruins. It was honestly starting to annoy him. The ungrateful whelp should be thanking him for searching so hard, for leaving the weaklings in the Ruins to live their lives, for not yet taking his rage out on the small, frail body seated in his lap. With an irritated grumble, the larger skeleton petted the top of Sans's skull, using his other hand to guide Sans into curling comfortably into his chest.

At least he wasn't squirming or struggling anymore. He was just crying, breath occasionally hitching with an aborted sob.

The Riverperson was thankfully silent, and Papyrus used the quiet of the ride to reflect on what he was going to do with Sans once they reached the castle. He had several choices here, but he had a fairly good idea of what he planned to do.

Sans would spend three nights in the coldest, darkest, most isolated dungeon cell he could find, with no food, light, contact, or anything to occupy himself. And on the fourth morning, Papyrus would move him back to his old rooms, permanently. But by that time, Papyrus would've moved his own belongings and effects into Sans's tower, making it the Royal Bedchambers rather than his own rooms. There would also be a few... Modifications done to the rooms, to ensure there were no more problems.

This would not only give time for the rooms to be fixed to his specifications, but it would also allow Papyrus time to calm down, so that when Sans was brought back to his tower, he wouldn't go too far in punishing him for running. And the time in complete isolation would force Sans to think, and make him crave contact and attention from his sibling.

It was the perfect recipe to keep Sans to himself. He only wished he didn't have to go so far, but his brother had forced his hand.

In his lap, Sans continued to cry even as he cuddled closer at the urging of the arm looped around his hips.

1234567890

"SOPHIE!" Tori shrieked, cancelling her attack as quickly as she could.

The appearance of a human-- a _human in his house_ \-- spooked Gore enough that he stopped his own attack, as well.

And in between the two stood Sophie Bennett herself, completely unharmed and surrounded by a thin, semi-transparent bubble of red magic. She looked completely stumped.

"You can do magic?!" Tori demanded. Sophie shook her head rapidly.

"I don't think so..."

"So not only did you let the human pass, you brought her _here_?!" Gore demanded, temper flaring. Tori pointed a Beamer directly at his face without looking away from Sophie.

"Do be quiet, brother. The _adults_ are talking."

Stung, Gore shut his trap.

"Child, that is magic."

"But I didn't do it!" Sophie protested, her voice echoing slightly in the bubble.

Tori shook her head. "If you did not shield yourself, then who did, child?" She asked, rather reasonably. "I did not. Gore certainly did not."

Gore nodded. No way he'd been the one to cast the shield.

"I dunno. But I didn't." The human shook her head, blonde hair flipping about.

Gore stared at this short little brat who seemed completely unconcerned that they'd nearly died. Maybe she just had a massive amount of HP?

He checked her.

Frisk Seraphee, ATK 1 DEF 9999 HP 36. Despite everything, you're still you.

... Hadn't Tori just called her 'Sophie?'

The bubble suddenly vanished, and to Gore's shock, the words before him changed.

_Sophie Bennett, ATK 1 DEF 0 HP 20. Believe the best in everyone._

What?!

 _What_?!?!?!

Sophie turned to him and he stared at her, slack-jawed.

"What the fuck is up with you, kid?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this was my plan from the beginning.


	8. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tori and Gorey have a childish spat which ends in something even stranger happening to Sophie, and Sans is generally terrified,

"What are you speaking of?" Tori demanded, crossing her arms and giving Gore an evil eye that would make lesser monsters rethink their entire existence. Gore, however, was immune to this death stare, due mostly to the wonders of constant exposure and natural obliviousness.

 

"I just checked the little brat, sister. And her name read as 'Frisk Seraphee', but when the bubble disappeared, it changed to 'Sophie Bennett'!"

 

Tori stared at her sibling in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that?"

 

“Well, yeah I do! Because it's the truth, you fucking bitch! Why the hell would I lie to you about it!?”

 

"To distract me with some cock-and-bull story about her check stats being strange whilst you try and kill her?!" Tori snarled. But something was niggling at the back of her mind, something from that time in the cold darkness of the lab with the man whose face she couldn't quite remember, ranting under his breath about... something.

 

“Please stop fighting...” Sophie mumbled.

 

“As if I would do something _that_ stupidly elaborate when I could just shoot the human in the face right now and be done with it!”

 

“You built a three-story machine to _open a jar of pickles_ a few months ago, Gore! And it didn't even fucking work! Do not try and tell me you do not do stupidly elaborate things!”

 

"Stop, please," Sophie said, just a bit louder.

 

"Well aren't you just a shining example of proper technique!" Gore pinched his snout and mocked, " _I'm Tori and I don't even pick up my socks, ever, but I'm, like, a fucking tactics expert or some shit!_ ”

 

“I do not sound like that, you asshole!”

 

“Really? Could've fooled me!”

 

“Please stop!” Sophie whined a little louder. Though they could clearly hear the little human at this point, they paid her no heed.

 

“Well if that is how you wish to play, Gore--” Tori began speaking in a childish voice, “-- _My name is Gorey and I spend the entire day complaining about my sister and trying to sneak pie before I have eaten my entire dinner_!”

 

“I TOLD YOU TO STOP CALLING ME GOREY!” Tori smirked at the red blush just visible under her sibling's thick white fur. Score one for her! “And in front of the human, too...” He sounded _mortified_.

 

“But I did not call you Gorey. _You_ called you Gorey.” Tori giggled.

 

“I fucking hate you, Tori!” he threw several fireballs at her, and she dodged them with the ease of long practice.

 

She raised a hand and reformed a Beamer--

 

“ _ **WILL YOU JUST STOP ALREADY!?**_ ” Sophie shrieked in a voice that was much different from her own. Both of the monsters stared at her-- She seemed to be standing taller, straighter, with much better posture. Her little fists were on her hips and her eyes... Her irises were no longer the bright, emerald green they'd been only moments before. No, now they were a shining crimson, flicking back and forth between the pair.

 

“... Sophie? Child? Are you well?” Tori said, worry coloring her voice. Gore glanced between the pair.

 

The child looked up at her with a very 'deer-in-the-headlights' expression. “ _ **I-I am fine, Mo-Miss Tori.**_ ”

 

"There is something strange about your voice. And your eyes."

 

“ _ **It... It is nothing. It is normal, for humans.**_ ” Sophie shook her head rapidly, blinking a few times. Her eyes went back to green. “I need to go... use the restroom.”

 

Before either of them could think to stop her or ask what she needed to do in a room most monsters didn't even have in their house, she ran for the nearest (thankfully open) window and clambered out of it.

 

Tori exchanged a confused blink with Gore.

 

1234567890

 

Sans nearly choked as Papyrus used his leash to pull the smaller skeleton into his lap on the boat. Two of the dogs (Dogamy and Dogaressa, if memory served) climbed in as well, and the boat set off.

 

He couldn't stop crying. He was so afraid... Would Boss beat him when they got back? He wouldn't be surprised. Was Papyrus really going to lock him away forever? He wouldn't put it past his brother.

 

Stars, he wanted nothing more than to go back to the Ruins and hide under his bed. Preferably with a bottle of mustard. Alcoholic mustard. Stars...

 

Sans flinched as Papyrus made an annoyed noise and started betting his skull. Sans could remember a time when sitting curled in Papyrus's lap with his brother cuddling him or petting him made Sans feel higher than a kite, when it soothed the tears after a nightmare or helped him fall into an easy sleep. But those times were long gone, and all Sans wished to do was shove his sibling away from him. But he didn't dare. Not even when Boss looped an arm around his hips and started fondling him. He just pressed himself closer to Papyrus's chest as tears continued to drip down his skull.

 

He was so tired... Today had been a long, emotionally exhausting day, and he just wanted it to be over already. Sans knew he was powerless to stop Boss from doing whatever he wanted, so what was the point of being awake while he did it? Boss would take him to wherever he was planning to keep Sans, whether he was awake or asleep. And... Maybe, if he slept, Sans could save himself the turmoil of having to wait and see what would happen to him.

 

But... He didn't want to make Papyrus angry... And Sans wasn't sure if trying to nap would set him off. “b-boss?” He mumbled into Papyrus's shirt, quiet enough that the other Royal could ignore him if he so chose.

 

"What," Papyrus said flatly, looking down at him.

 

“m-may i s-sleep, p-please?”

 

Papyrus hummed thoughtfully for a moment, and Sans's soul sank at the thought that he may actually say no. “I suppose.”

 

Letting out a little breath of relief, Sans leaned further into the touch of his brother, trying to convince himself he was safe enough to nod off.

 

1234567890

 

“Good going, love. 'It's normal for humans'?! You couldn't have come up with something more believable?”

 

“ _ **Forgive me for being distracted by the sight of my parents as weird emo teenagers, Frisk!**_ ”

 

“Guys, please don't argue. I probably look insane enough without fighting myself.”

 

“It's not arguing with yourself that you should worry about, Sophie," Frisk said with a little shrug of the child's shared shoulders.

 

“ _ **Yeah, the problem is when you argue with yourself and**_ **lose**.”

 

"Uh huh." Sophie drawled, rolling her eyes. "Care to explain who you are and why you're possessing me?"

 

“Well, I'm Frisk and this lovely lady is Chara. And we're both dead. And neither of us is entirely sure how we ended up here.”

 

“ _ **You jumped off a bridge, as I recall**_ ," Chara mumbled, scuffing a foot in the snow with an air of amazement.

 

“I was lonely, gimme a break! Your brother abandoned me without so much as a goodbye! So I wanted to go back to the beginning, but... Something was weird. It was like the option to reset was _there_ , but not really in the right _place_ , you know?”

 

“No, I don't know. I have no idea what you mean.”

 

“ _ **That's okay, we're not entirely sure what's happening, either.**_ ”

 

“I mean, I killed Toriel and Asgore. And yet, there they are! And Sans was living in the Ruins, which, last I checked, was not a thing. And yet now it is!”

 

"I'm going to pretend that made sense," Sophie muttered.

 

“You do that, kid. Come on, we should keep moving. The sooner we get to the barrier, the better.”

 

“Can you talk without taking over my body? Because that's getting old real fast.”

 

_***... Is this better?** _

 

“Much.”

 

_***Good.** _

 

“So... I guess we go this way?” Sophie gestured to the exit to Snowdin.

 

*Yeah, I think so.

 

“So... If you two have 'joined my quest' or whatever...”

 

_***Oh, right. Ahem-** _

 

_***You have gained two cohorts!** _

 

_***Frisk Seraphee has joined your party!** _

 

_***ATK 1 DEF 10 LV 8** _

 

_***Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.** _

 

*Chara Dreamurr has joined your party!

 

*ATK 10 DEF 1 LV 8

 

*Put on your war paint!

 

Sophie giggled. “That's actually kinda cool.” She looked up from watching the snow crunch beneath her boots.

 

Ahead of her, just in front of the mouth of a new cavern, Gore and Tori stood, the latter leaning against a tree, and the former in a ready stance.

 

*Looks like it's time for a fight, squirt.

 

* _ **Get ready!**_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was also planned from the beginning ~~mostly~~.


	9. Firework

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sophie fights Gore.

As Sophie approached, Gore began to speak.

 

“Human,” He crossed his arms. “I'm not really sure how you managed to enchant my sister, or how you managed to do that weird thing with your name, or how you've managed to survive this long, _but!_ ” He posed with on paw on his hip and waggled a fluffy finger at her, hips cocked and his tattered old black and red-striped scarf fluttering dramatically in the wind. In the back of her mind, Frisk and Chara started giggling. “This is the _end of the line_ , human! For I shall kill you and take your soul to King Papyrus! And the King shall be doubly grateful to me, for both returning his Queen--” Tori snarled wordlessly in his general direction, “-- and for bringing him your soul!” He waved a paw imperiously. “The King will be so grateful, he will offer me a place in his Royal Guard! And I will finally have all the attention and adulation I truly deserve!”

 

“Or, you know, you will be murdered in your sleep.” Tori drawled with a roll of her eyes. Sophie wondered how many times she'd heard speeches like these.

 

“Silence, sister! For now--” There was a soft _ting_ , and Sophie was surrounded by a bright green aura as a small green heart appeared in front of her chest. “We do battle!”

 

The human looked down at it in confusion. “My soul was red, before.”

 

*Actually, that was _my_ soul, kid.

 

“Huh?”

 

*I'll explain later. Short version is that I have higher defense and HP and I didn't want you dying. Now, focus!

 

Sophie looked over her battle screen. Four buttons-- FIGHT, ACT, ITEM, MERCY.

 

Then, a bright red trident flew at her, even though it was her turn. With a squeak, Sophie dove to the side. But Gore hadn't been aiming at her.

 

With an echoing _crack_ , the pieces of the MERCY button fell to the snow.

 

Frisk swore. Chara yelled out in a language Sophie didn't recognize.

 

“You--” Sophie stared at the spot on the screen where the button normally was. “You broke my MERCY button! I need that!”

 

Gore laughed. “No you don't, human! Hasn't my traitorous sister taught you anything? It's _kill or be killed_ , and if you won't kill...” He started laughing. “Then you. Will. DIE!”

 

Sophie got to her feet and stared at Gore.

 

-Act

 

_***Flirt** _

 

_***You compliment Gore.** _

 

“You know, that was really cool, destroying my button like that!”

 

*Gore seems taken aback. 

 

“Um... Thank you, human! But I'm still going to kill you!”

 

As Sophie danced around fire whips that moved like snakes, she couldn't help but wonder why Frisk didn't just shield her again.

 

*That... actually took a lot of energy, kid. S'why I didn't manage to manifest my own soul in place of yours like I did with Sans. Sorry, you're on your own!

 

That made sense, she supposed as the box disappeared and her battle screen popped up.

*Gore is watching you closely.

 

-Act

 

_***Flirt** _

 

_***You ask Gore on a date.** _

 

_***He flushes.** _

 

“Aren't you like, eight?” Gore furrowed his brow. “And I'm supposed to be killing you!”

 

“BUT YOU'RE SO COOL AND YOU'RE ALL FLUFFY!” Sophie shrieked happily.

 

*Gore poses dramatically.

 

“See, Tori! Even the small human thinks I'm cool!”

 

Tori rolled her eyes. “Yes, brother. You are the _coolest_. You're so cool that Ice is jealous. If by 'cool', you mean a massive dork.”

 

_***Gore stops fighting you to fling attacks at Tori.** _

 

“YOU TAKE THAT BACK!”

 

“MAKE ME!”

 

-Act

 

_***Repair** _

 

*You scramble to pick up the pieces of your MERCY button before Gore notices.

 

*You dry them on Sans's jacket and quickly tape them back together, wondering why there was scotch tape in the jacket pocket.

 

*You put the button back in place.

 

1234567890

 

Gore turned back to the human to see her grinning ear to ear, and realized he'd missed his turn. “What are you up to, small human?”

 

***Sophie is Sparing you.**

 

“What?”

 

***Sophie is Sparing you.**

 

Gore frowned down at the text. “Why are you sparing me, kid? I'm trying to kill you.”

 

“Everyone deserves a second chance.” The kid said without hesitation, her big green eyes shining as she stared up at him from across the battlefield.

 

“... Kid, you're crazy,” Gore said, raising a hand and summoning a circle of fire to surround her.

 

***Sophie is Sparing you.**

 

The ring began to shrink.

 

***Sophie is Sparing you.**

 

“I think you can do good, Gore. You don't have to be in the Royal Guard to be important. Tori thinks you're the most important person in the world!”

 

Gore paused, glancing between the kid and his sister, who suddenly wouldn't meet his eyes. Slowly, the flame wall began to dissolve.

 

***Sophie is Sparing you.**

 

“She told me all about you while we were at Chillby's! Tori really loves you, Gore.”

 

“Tori?”

 

The goat girl sighed. “You may be a pain, but you are my precious little brother. You are truly the most important thing in the world to me... Even when you piss me off. I love you, you fucking brat. You don't need to impress me, you don't need to make me proud, because I _am_ proud of you.” She twisted her paws in her cardigan, refusing to look up. “That was the mushiest shit I have ever said...”

 

***Sophie is Sparing you.**

 

Gore took a deep breath. “Why do you care what happens to the human?”

 

“Because. I promised the Queen if a human ever came through the door and did not harm anybody, I would protect them.”

 

“... You really cared about him enough to go against the King?”

 

“He was... Is... My friend, Gore. But you are my brother.”

 

Gore nodded resolutely. “Alright.”

 

***Sophie is Sparing you.**

 

“I will help you, sister, small human.”

 

-Mercy.

 

“And for what little it's worth...”  
  


***Spare.**

 

“I'm sorry, Tori.”

 

1234567890

 

_***You have gained one cohort!** _

 

_***Gore Dreamurr has joined your party!** _

 

*ATK 5 DEF 4 LV 9

 

*Am I a saint or a murderer, tainted with the souls of your kind?

 

Sophie yelled in glee and ran forward through the snow, jumping on Gore with a happy squeal and throwing her arms around him.

 

Tori chuckled and Gore panicked. “How do I get her off!? Why is she touching me?!”

 

“Thank you!” Sophie laughed, nuzzling into his chest.

 

“I... Uh...”

 

Tori laughed even harder. “Come on, you two... It is getting late. Our little minx should probably get some sleep before we head into Waterfall.”

 

“R-right!” Gore nodded awkwardly. “We should head home! She can spend the night on the couch!”

 

“But I'm not--” Sophie yawned slightly. “-- Tired. Dang it...”

 

Tori swept past Gore, still chuckling, and plucked the girl out of his arms, pulling her hood over her head as the trio headed back towards town.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, I'm off to work. ;)


	10. Complicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sophie has a problem, and so the rescue must be delayed. Meanwhile, Sans wakes to find his potential new home, and Papyrus remains awful. And we meet someone whose fate was previously unknown.

Spohie whined softly as she opened her eyes. Her head hurt really bad, and the light only made it worse.

 

*You okay, kid?

 

“Don't feel well...” She muttered. “Tummy hurts, head too.”

 

*Great, you must've caught something in the cold...

 

“But Daddy's coat--”

 

_***Isn't enough to make up for the fact that you were running around in the snow in shorts.** _

 

Sophie shakily got to her feet, the room spinning. She stumbled away from the couch, but it seemed that was a bit too much... She fell to her knees and began vomiting.

 

“Sophie!?” Tori simply _appeared_ in front of her, but the child paid it no mind. “Sophie, are you well?!”

 

Gore pounded down the stairs. “Does she _look_ well? I didn't even know it was possible to puke that much!”

 

“What do we do?”

 

“I don't know! Do I look like a human doctor!?”

 

Sophie managed to get her heaves under control, wiping the taste from her mouth with the back of her hand. “We gotsa go...” She slurred softly. “Gotsa save Daddy...”

 

“Oh hell no!” Gore snapped. “It's going to be hard enough to get through Waterfall with her in full health... There's no way I'm even going to try going against Undyne with her like this! Look, she can barely stand!”

 

“Can s'and!” Sophie whined, pushing herse;f to her feet. Immediately, she was overcome by a wave of vertigo, and she fell. Tori caught her just before her rump hit the floor.

 

“As much as I do not like it, my brother is correct, child.” She lifted the girl into her arms and carried her back to the couch. “You need to rest.”

 

“But Daddy--”

 

Tori shook her head with a sigh. “--Would be most displeased with me if I let you go to Waterfall like this, even if it were a perfectly safe place for a little human, which it is not.”

 

“But--”

 

“Rest, child. I will go to the library and see if I can find a book on human illness. If you require anything, please ask Gore.” Tori set her on the couch and tucked the blanket about her.

 

 _ ***She's right, kiddo.**_ Chara's mental 'voice' was soft, but firm.

 

*If you go to Waterfall like this, you will not survive the trip. Trust me, I know from experience. 

 

With an irritated noise, Sophie burrowed into her blanket, shutting her eyes. She _was_ feeling pretty tired.

 

1234567890

 

The boat bumped against the dock, and Papyrus briefly entertained the idea of waking Sans up and making him walk back to the castle, in full view of everyone and wondering at the fate Papyrus had in store for him. It would be fitting... But no. He didn't fancy Sans having a panic attack and accidentally harming himself (to that end, he was going to have to make sure Sans was secure in his cell). And this was a punishment, not torture. He shouldn't do more than necessary to remind Sans of his place. So he climbed out of the boat, cradling the small body. Sans stirred slightly, but he stroked the Queen's head and he settled back to sleep.

 

As Papyrus carried his tiny, fragile sibling deeper into the bowels of the castle, he spent the time mentally planning out the new modifications to their newly shared chambers.

 

1234567890

 

The next morning, Sans woke up cold and sore. For a brief moment he was confused, wondering where he was and why it was so dark.

 

Then, the memories came rushing in.

 

He'd been found.

 

By Papyrus.

 

And now he was... where _was_ he? Sans pushed himself into a sitting position with his shackled wrists, noting that the cuffs had been locked together so that he didn't even have the length of chain in between. He heard a rattle behind him and turned just enough to see the very short length of chain attached to his collar and leading to the dark bricked wall.

 

A quick glance down at his ankles proved he was completely immobilized.

 

His eyes were adjusting to the light (or lack of light) now, and Sans felt his soul sink in his chest at the realization that he was in a small cell, with a heavy steel door a few feet away. He was tethered to the back wall, and the only light in the room came from a single burning stub of a candle sitting atop the door frame. The little flame was already nearly burnt out, and it wouldn't last more than a couple of hours.

 

Boss had... Boss had really just left him here, like this? Sans felt the tears threaten to start up again. Was this going to be his grave? Was he just going to be here, alone and immobile and forgotten, until he died? Was that going to be his punishment for running away?

 

He shivered, eyelights flicking back and forth. He was trapped. Completely and utterly. It wasn't just in his head. He was trapped. Four walls, a shut door. So much worse than ever before.

 

“boss?! boss, please let me out...” Sans muttered, breathing heavily. “i'm sorry, i'll be good, just please please please don't leave me like this...”

 

There wasn't any response, of course, but Sans was too far into his panic to care. The tears spilled over, pouring out of his eye sockets and down his cheekbones, over his teeth and onto the floor. “please i'm sorry i'll be good don't leave me here....”

 

1234567890

 

Outside the cell, Papyrus smirked slightly as he heard the nearly incoherent stream of little pleas. Maybe it wouldn't take three days to break Sans's remaining resistance after all.

 

He stalked silently to the end of the hall and stopped a guard once he was out of Sans's hearing range. “You. You will keep an eye on my Queen. He is _not_ to know you are present. You are to keep me up-to-date on his mental state.”

 

“Yes, sir!” The flunky saluted, beginning to jog down the hall. He barely made it three feet before Papyrus impaled him with several dozen bones and he crumbled to dust.

 

“You!” Papyrus pointed at a female guard. “What did he do wrong?”

 

The woman saluted. “He ran, which could've allowed Queen Sans to hear his footsteps, directly violating the very first condition of his task, Majesty!”

 

“Very good. I assume you are capable of following those _very simple_ orders?”

 

“Of course, Sire! Always! I live to serve.”

 

“Excellent. What is your name?” He demanded. He would need to know so he could receive her reports.

 

“Tiffany, Sire! I was previously part of the servant stable, Sire!” Ah, yes, he remembered her. Sans's handmaiden, the one he'd made _friends_ with. Why hadn't he killed her, again?

 

“Why didn't I have you executed?”

 

“Sire!” The cat woman saluted again. “I beat all of the executioners in combat, Sire!”

 

Oh, right. “And I trust that your previous...” Ha sneered, “ _Affections..._ for my queen will not cloud your duties?”

 

“Never, Sire!” She barked. “I live to serve you.”

 

He nodded, casting a quick eavesdropping spell over her anyway. She didn't seem at all offended over the blatant show of distrust, not that he would've cared if she were. “Off to your post, then.”

 

“With your leave, Sire!” She nodded and walked down the hall, her footsteps light and soundless, an art most of the servants and slaves in the castle had perfected.

 


	11. Sad Beautiful Tragic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans continues to have a bad time.

Sans had stopped crying a few hours after the light from the candle snuffed into nothing. His newly limited magic reserves meant that he didn't have a lot of excess to create tears with, and he had eventually run out of it. Now he was just huddled in the corner farthest from the (closed!) door, eyes shut and trying to rock back and forth soothingly. The repetitive motion normally helped calm him down a bit, but since every single movement he made caused his chains to rattle and clack together, it only served as a reminder of where he was and who had trapped him.

Sans couldn't take it. But after a few hours of begging and pleading to thin air his voice had started to hurt, and there was still no sign of anyone, so Sans quieted down and accepted his fate.

There really wasn't anything else he could do.

1234567890

Sophie had a fever. Or at least, that was what Tori thought. Her symptoms matched what the book said, flushed face, high body temperature... But the fever was only another symptom of the bigger illness. Along with severe chills, pounding headaches, nausea, and dizziness. And the vomiting.

Tori had no idea what to do. They couldn't leave until Sophie got better, but she had very little clue as to how to help the little human. And anyone who would know wouldn't help, because the only person Tori could think of that would know how to help a human was Alphys, and the Royal Scientist was hardly going to risk her position or her life to help a _human_ , no matter the reason.

"Tori?" Sophie mumbled from the couch. "Will you tell me a story?"

Tori blinked, nearly dropping the book. "A story?"

"'Ncle Jack always tells m'stories when 'm sick..."

Tori sighed, looking the miserable child over. Well... She did know a couple children's stories. The Tale of Three Brothers had been one of Gore's favorites when he was little.

It wouldn't hurt to tell her, right?

"Of course I will, child." Tori stood and moved to take a seat on the arm of the couch. With a small smile, she settled in to tell the tale. " _There once were three brothers traveling along a lonely, winding trail at twilight..._ "

There really wasn't anything else she could do.

1234567890

He was going to go insane. There was no noise. There was no light. He could barely move. There was nothing to do. He was hungry. He was cold. He was thirsty. He was tired.

He couldn't even bring himself to sleep; he might miss a chance at interacting. He might have awful nightmares, or worse, pleasant dreams that would allow temporary relief from the pain and fear he was feeling, making the shock of being here all the worse when he awoke.

Stars, he wanted out. He wanted to be held... He was alone and afraid and it was driving him nuts. The minutes dragged on, ticking away as slowly as possible.

He was losing his mind.

Sans had lost track of how long it had been when the door creaked open and he was blinded by the trickle of light that poured in. He covered his eye sockets with his bound hands, whimpering.

"Sans." Papyrus's voice said quietly from the doorway. "Are you ready to behave?"

Sans didn't speak, just held out his arms in desperation, whimpering softly. _please hold me, please love me, please don't leave me here!!!_

The door shut behind him as Papyrus's footsteps grew closer. Without the light, Sans was able to crack his eyes open to look at his brother. "i'm s-sorry..."

"I know." Boss hummed soothingly, drawing Sans into his lap and rocking him back and forth. "You'll behave?"

"y-yes..."

"Good." There was a soft click, and the chain at the back of his collar fell away. "Do you love me?"

Sans hesitated, only for the slightest of seconds. "yes." _i don't know_. "i love you, boss..." _how can i love you when you've done this to me?_

"Good." Papyrus placed a soft, clanking kiss to the scar on Sans's skull, getting to his feet while still holding the smaller body. "Let's get you back to our room, hmm?"

There was only one acceptable answer to that, and even though every single mote of dust that made up Sans's body was screaming at him not to say it, he was simply too afraid of being left back in the tiny cell to protest.

"sure, boss..." Sans mumbled as he leant closer into Papyrus's hold. "whatever you want. i love you..."

"There's a good boy." Papyrus cooed, opening the cell door and loping out of it. Sans's cheeks burned with shame, but he said nothing, closing his eyes and trying to relax into the warm touch. At least he wasn't so cold anymore.

1234567890

When boss had said 'our room', it hasn't really occurred to Sans that he _meant_ ' **our** room'. Sans's tower had always been Sans's space, and Papyrus had always had his own chambers. It was this semblance of privacy that had made the later time with his brother bearable, and it was the illusion of having a place where Papyrus wasn't at (except when he _was_ there, of course) that had allowed Sans to feel safe in planning his escape.

Apparently, he'd lost that privilege, because the first thing he'd noticed upon being carried into the living area of the trio of rooms at the top of the tallest tower was Papyrus's computer against the wall, and his books organized neatly on a shelf that hadn't been there before, and a puzzle spread on the little table. His curious eyes roved about, looking for other differences, and he noticed a length of chain bolted to the wall at one end, in the back of the room.

Sans shivered and buried his face into Boss's chest to avoid having to look at it.

Papyrus walked through the front room without breaking stride and pushed open the door to the bedchamber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Tale of Three brothers is of course owned by the illustrious Jo Rowling, who can't write a love story to save her life and is secretly Indiana Jones.


	12. Hold It Against Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans gets an inkling of his new life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a bit of help from Belphy on FFN and the always-blamable Sora_Tayuya when it came to modifications for Sans's room.

Sans was afraid to look at the bedroom. His soul was filled with a deep, profound fear of what was to come, and even though he didn't know what Papyrus had planned, he was afraid of it. 

 

The King sat down on the bed and, keeping a firm hold on Sans, started removing the chains. 

 

The action prompted Sans to look up at his sibling's face. "boss?"

 

"Hush, Sans." Papyrus scolded. "I had a new collar made for you."

 

Sans tilted his head in confusion. His collar was perfectly fine, right? It was a magic suppressor, it was silver and engraved with the delta runes on the front... It had a ring to connect his wrist shackles to. The only reason he could think of for a new collar was if it was somehow more restrictive than this one. 

 

The thought didn't comfort him. 

 

The King held up a new ring of fine silver, padded on the inside with soft leather. It had the same engravings as the one he currently wore, the same ring on the front... The only difference he could see was the ring on the back. He remembered the chain in the other room and wished he could see the rest of this one, but the position Papyrus held him in kept him from looking around-- all he could see was his brother unless he tried to pull away. And he was afraid of what could be done to him if it looked like he was trying to get loose. 

 

"Submit."

 

Sans went limp in the other's arms at the familiar command, laying his head on Papyrus's chest. His soul pounded in his own ribcage. 

 

"Good." 

 

His collar was quickly and efficiently replaced, and Sans nearly whined at the feeling of his magic returning to him for only a few scant seconds before being snuffed out.

 

"Tell me how it feels." Papyrus demanded, smirking slightly. 

 

Sans looked up and opened his mouth to tell Papyrus that it felt cold and suffocating, like always, but found that only air escaped from between his teeth. 

 

His pupils shrunk to pinpricks and he tried desperately to speak, to yell, to make any noise at all. 

 

Nothing. 

 

"Good, good. It's working properly."

 

Sans stared at him in shock, fear and betrayal beginning to cloud his thoughts. There was a silencer on this one?! And Papyrus had put it on him?!

 

As his breathing grew heavy and panicked, the King patted his head in a mockery of reassurance. "Calm down, Sans. It can be disabled. Look." He tapped the side of it with a glowing phalange-tip, and Sans heard a click.

 

"wh-why?" He whimpered, immensely relieved at the fact that it worked this time. 

 

"When I'm not around, you don't really need to talk, now do you?" Boss said smugly. Sans shivered at the self-righteous tone. "And now you won't. Besides, it's part of your punishment."

 

Sans felt fresh tears gathering at the corners of his eye sockets. Papyrus busied himself with replacing the shackles on his wrists. Only once that was done did he move the smaller of the two off of his lap and set him on the bed, moving to reach past him and grab something that jangled in a very familiar way. Sans allowed the tears to fall without resistance, in much the same way he didn't resist when Papyrus attached the length of chain to the ring on the back of his new collar. He didn't do more then flinch when Papyrus reactivated the silencer, either.

 

"Stay." Papyrus smirked, sounding distinctly amused. 

 

Sans sat demurely on the edge of the bed, hands in his lap and staring at his knees.

 

“I'll be back in twenty minutes. Don't move.” Papyrus swept from the room.

 

Sans took the chance to get a good look at his room for the first time since he'd left it two years ago.

 

It had been gutted, and completely refurnished. Even the bed had been replaced with one large enough for two to sleep together comfortably. The far wall was covered with several racks and shelves, carrying everything from terrifying torture implements like spiked whips, knives, and what looked like a _branding_ _iron_ , to sex toys on another shelf. Sans looked away from those, wishing they weren't directly across from him. This brought the small barren cage in the corner into view, reminding him distinctly of a dog kennel-- complete with an empty pet bowl and dog bed. He couldn't bring himself to stare at that for much longer, either, so he turned his eyelights to the window seat... Only to find that it had been bricked over entirely. The other side of the room wasn't much better, a shut cabinet full of something unknown, a small bookcase hanging above it, a door left hanging open that led to a tiny little room. He could just make out the glint of chains on the back wall, and it occurred to him that the little closet must be for him. Not wanting to think about having a dungeon cell in the convenience of his bedroom, Sans turned his attention to the wardrobe between the closet door and the bathroom door. It, too, was hanging open, and Sans could make out a number of tiny, lacy things that made his cheeks flush with shame just thinking about them. He already missed the comparative bulk of his robe, and he was still wearing it!

 

A look at the wall behind him gave him a view of how much slack the tether had, and he guessed it was about enough to get him just short of the middle of the room. He wouldn't be able to reach any of the furniture besides the bed, the barren desk, and the nightstand. The door to the living room was on the other side of the room entirely, and the bathroom and horrible cell-closet were far to his side.

 

He was already feeling claustrophobic and restless... And he wanted Papyrus to come back. He was still craving contact, and even though Papyrus was the cause of most of his predicament, Sans wasn't sure how he was feeling. He was afraid, yes, and sad, but none of that lent him any real clue as to how he felt about the King. They were how he felt about the situation. When he thought about Boss, though, he only felt a confusing mishmash of emotions that he couldn't even begin to interpret beyond both wanting Papyrus to hold him and love him and wanting to shove Papyrus away and run for the hills.

 

Why did everything have to be so complicated?

 

“Sans.” His brother's voice came from the doorway. “I'm back.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone up for sin of extremely dubious (or more likely not at all) consent next chapter? I'm game.


	13. Eat It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans is still having a bad time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I spent eight bucks to go to the pool today and I've spent most of the last three hours lying on the lounge writing on my phone.
> 
> I almost forgot-- everybody go read this: http://archiveofourown.org/works/7494420
> 
> It's a lovely little oneshot inspired by my pain and misery filled tale. :)

Papyrus entered the room, shutting the door behind him. Balanced on one arm was a tray of food (lasagna, it looked like) that made Sans's non-existing stomach growl. He hadn't eaten since the aborted lunch with Sophie, and that felt like ages ago.

Papyrus set the plate on the nightstand and turned to the locked cabinet. Sans moved to reach towards the food only to jump away with a silent squeak when a glowing red bone embedded itself in the wood a scant inch from his hand.

"No, Sans." Papyrus scolded without even looking at him.

With an equally silent whimper, Sans slid back to his spot, eyeing the plate hungrily.

Papyrus came back over with a familiar yellow bottle in hand, and Sans realized the cabinet was full of them. "I shouldn't be giving you this with how you've behaved recently. But I don't want you to think I won't reward you if you're a good boy, so you get a treat today." The taller skeleton sat primly on the edge of the bed, patting his lap. Sans scrambled onto it, glad for the contact but slightly confused.

Papyrus lifted the plate and set it on Sans's lap. Once again he reached for the fork. This time his brother actually _smacked_ his hand away. "I said no, Sans!"

He looked up at the elder brother in confusion. Was Papyrus just going to eat it then? And make Sans hold it while he did? That was... Well, the thought was enough to make tears start to form in the corners of his eye sockets.

Rolling his own eyes, the larger of the two tapped his collar again, and Sans heard a click. Glad to have his voice back, Sans quietly apologized. He didn't really feel sorry, but it was better to just... Not make his brother angry.

Even if he was really hungry.

He supposed that Papyrus would decide if he got to eat, just like Papyrus would decide if he got to speak.

He was honestly surprised he wasn't having another panic attack, but he felt strangely... Numb. As if he just couldn't process all of what was happening.

His brother lifted a forkful of lasagna to his teeth and Sans stared at it cross-eyed. "bo-" he began to voice his confusion, but Papyrus simply shoved the bite into his mouth.

He was feeding him? Like Sans was a helpless toddler?

An attempt at protesting was cut off with another bite of food, and Sans grunted his annoyance. He was not an invalid! He turned his head away at the next bite, resolutely shutting his teeth and gritting them.

"Sans. You _will_ eat."

Sans shook his head. He had precious little control over his current situation, he wasn't about to give up what he did have. An he was still perfectly capable of feeding himself.

"Aren't you hungry?" Papyrus wheedled. "Don't you like it?"

Sans nodded. Yes was the answer to both of those things; he really was hungry, and it really was good. Niether of those things were the issue here.

"Then eat." The fork was held more insistently in front of his mouth.

Through teeth gritted to avoid being silenced by the fork, Sans grumbled, "boss, i can eat it myself."

"That's your problem?" Papyrus demanded in a voice devoid of emotion. Sans flinched, thinking he'd probably overstepped his bounds. "Too bad. Open your mouth."

Meekly, he did as he was told, accepting the bite of food. "but--"

"Hush up and eat, Sans. Before I have to punish you."

Sans's eyelights flicked to the shelves, and he made no further protests against being hand-fed as Papyrus steadily worked his way through the plateful of food. Every couple of bites the fork would be replaced with the nozzle of the mustard bottle, and he would be allowed a few sips before it was placed back on the nightstand.

Only once his plate was clean was clean did the King see fit to let Sans off of his lap. "I'll be back." After placing the bottle back in the cabinet with the others, Papyrus once again, swept from the room, taking the empty plate with him.

Sans breathed a sigh of relief.

True to his word, Papyrus was barely gone a moment before he returned, and Sans looked up at him in concern.

"boss?"

"Stand up."

Aware he was still on thin ice, Sans stood, walking to the end of his chain near the middle of the room when Boss pointed.

Papyrus walked over to the shelves and removed a pair of scissors. Sans looked on in confusion and fear.

"You won't be needing this anymore." With a few deft snaps of the blades, Sans's robe fell to the floor. His cheeks instantly flushed. It had been almost two years since anyone besides him had seen the scars and chips he kept hidden under the thick, heavy cloth. Granted, most of them had been caused by Papyrus, but that didn't really make him feel any better. The ones that weren't from his brother were either extremely old or caused by Sans himself on some of his worse days.

He didn't bother trying to cover himself. It wasn't like the other hadn't seen it all before.

Still, the dark gaze Papyrus directed at him as he took in the tiny little form, fragile and broken as he was, made Sans shiver.

"I've missed you, Sans. You really did scare me when you ran off." The larger monster began circling him like a predator would their wounded prey, easily stepping over the almost taut chain. "I thought you'd been kidnapped. I thought somebody had stolen my little gem. But no. You ran off. You left me, Sans!" He grabbed the front of Sans's collar and dragged him into the air by it. Sans choked, clutching at it.

"I think an apology is in order."

"i-i'm s-sorry, b-boss!" Sans choked out, gagging on the silver around his cervical vertebrae.

"Not that kind of apologizing." He was tossed onto the bed, landing hard and bouncing slightly, the chain rattling.

Trembling, Sans got to his hands and knees. "wh-what then, b-boss?"

"You can start by riding me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooorry. Sin's next chapter. ;P


	14. Jet Pack Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm giving you guys sin, but Imma make ya feel bad too. :)

Papyrus seated himself on the bed a few feet from where Sans was kneeling and gestured for him to come over. The smaller skepeton didn't bother to protest, just crawled across the gaudy bedspread and into Papyrus's lap.

 

He didn't want to do this. He almost wished Boss would just pin him down and take him; It would be so much easier to just lie back and think of something else. But his brother obviously wanted him to participate, so participate he would.

 

Sans had had plenty of practice at participating even when he didn't want to.

 

First came the robe. It was difficult to maneuver with his shackled wrists, but he managed to get it arranged so he could access his brother's pants. He fumbled with the belt and buttons for a moment, cursing how out of practice he was. Once they were open, he tugged them down to reveal the other's pelvis.

 

Sans frowned slightly as he eyed the already gathering magic. Boss must really be eager. He formed his tongue, chewing on it absently as he regarded the best way to do this without being aroused himself. Papyrus would normally just shove himself into Sans's pelvic inlet without a care that it hurt, but... well... It hurt when he did that!

 

He could hear Papyrus's impatient grumbling and licked at the edges of his ischium to pacify him while he rubbed his own bare pubis in an attempt to stimulate the magic needed to form an actual entrance. Part of the problem with having his magic blocked was that he could no longer control the magic needed to create genitalia (tongues were much less touchy), and had to rely on being aroused enough it would form on its own.

 

As if reading Sans's mind, an arm snaked behind him and joined in, Papyrus beginning to play with the barely-there sparks of red flesh. Sans redoubled his efforts, taking the little nub of red magic into his mouth, the motion creating more red magic in his chest as a warm, wet tunnel formed in place of an actual throat. Sans moaned softly around the quickly forming cock in his mouth and Papyrus began to finger the magic in his hips.

 

At least Papyrus was letting him prepare instead of just slamming him onto his dick.

 

As his brother's cock swelled to it's full size in Sans's 'throat', Papyrus pushed him away, panting slightly. “Enough of that.”

 

“s-sure...” Sans mumbled, trying not to think about how he'd rather be anywhere else. He straddled his sibling, clutching at the front of his robe and carefully lowering himself onto his shaft.

 

Sans let out a little whimper as his partly formed cunt stretched for the first time in years. He rose up and pushed himself down, counting the threads in the cloth in front of him as a distraction. Stars, this was just as unpleasant as he'd thought it would be...

 

A few more bounces and he suddenly found himself flipped over and on all fours. “You're certainly not trying very hard to earn my forgiveness.”

 

“i-”

 

“Shush. I know you're too lazy to want to do all the work.” Papyrus reentered him roughly and Sans squeaked.

 

“b-boss!” He wasn't really surprised when Papyrus just began to shove himself in and out without so much as a breather for Sans. He was none-too-gentle, gripping him by the lowermost ribs and scratching at his bones like an angry cat, making primal, pleased sounds.

 

Sans, meanwhile, clutched at the sheets beneath him, hips in the air and face an inch or so from the covers.

 

It fucking hurt.

 

“b-boss, ple-” Sans's attempt at getting his brother to ease up was aborted mid-word as Papyrus simply tapped the side of his collar and the silencer was activated.

 

For the first time in Papyrus's bed, Sans was afraid for his life. He was being rutted into like an animal in heat, while Papyrus clawed at his ribs and spine and bright red bone marrow leaked onto the sheets, and his sibling didn't care what he had to say. He tried to curl in on himself, but Papyrus just dragged him back to the same position with a growled warning to stay put.

 

This wasn't sharing. This wasn't consensual. And while Papyrus had taken him when he was unwilling before, he had always made an effort to get Sans to enjoy himself. To share the moment.

 

This was rape, plain and simple.

 

And Sans couldn't justify it to himself, couldn't tell himself that it wasn't rape because he'd _liked_ it-- Simply because he wasn't enjoying this at _all_. And that was a desperate, untrue rationalization, anyway.

 

He was more relieved that he would've thought possible when Papyrus shoved himself fully inside of Sans's cunt and released himself.

 

Sans shivered when his sibling pulled himself out, before simply collapsing into a pile of shaking bones and miserable (but entirely silent) tears. There were cracks in his pubis, and marrow was slowly oozing onto the bed from all of the little chips and cuts on his spine and ribcage. He could make out his little white soul, not even glowing, just flickering sadly in its bony prison.

 

His brother was unconcerned about all of this, adjusting the blanket so it covered the two of them and moving Sans so he was trapped between the King and the wall. Papyrus didn't say a single word, just plled Sans flush to him and falling asleep with a pleased smirk still plastered on his face.

 

Sans was so tired of crying, but that didn't stop the tears from falling.

 

Did Papyrus even still love him? Or did he just love the _idea_ of him, of being able to control every waking moment of Sans's life. Because from what Sans had seen today, that was going to be a common theme. Not able to speak, to move, to eat, to drink, to _dress_ without Papyrus deciding the when, where, and what.

 

Had he always been like this? Had Sans _made_ him like this?

 

… Was this all his fault? Had he screwed up his big brother?

 

Sans sobbed particularly violently at that thought, but the room remained entirely silent. Papyrus tugged Sans closer in his sleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My search history now includes 'pelvic anatomy'.


	15. Pity Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Sophie! And some Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spent all day cleaning, have a chapter.

Four days. That's how long it took for Sophie's fever to break. And even then, she still wasn't fit to travel.

 

But in those four days... Gore had become _attached_. The little girl always gave him a big grin when he came into the living room, slurring a chirpy hello and smiling. When she was feeling a bit better, she'd chatter endlessly about her late big brother and parents, and her Uncle Jack, and her school and her friends and she was _bright_ and _happy_ and it was like looking at the fucking _sun_. And really, he had no idea how to feel about it. This bubbly little optimistic brat seemed to be _made_ of the light of belief, like she was specifically crafted to be as innocent and endearing as possible. Fuck, she was making his fucking teeth rot!

 

And yet...

 

“Good morning, human!” Gore strutted into the room. Ad there was that thousand-watt grin, and a singsong greeting.

 

“Mornin', Gore!” Sophie brushed her hair out of her eyes.

 

“I brought breakfast-” The slices of cinnamon-butterscotch pie he'd stolen from the fridge were suddenly snatched out of his hands by Tori, who'd blipped right beside him. “-Never mind.”

 

“You sound soooo disappointed.” Sophie giggled.

 

“I wanted pie!” Gore nearly whined.

 

“Not for breakfast, idiot!” Tori snapped, whacking him on the back of the head.

 

“Has anyone ever told you that you're a real buzzkill, Tori?”

 

“You do,” Tori took a swig of her butterscotch topping. “Every fucking day.”

 

Sophie giggled again, and despite his annoyance, Gore couldn't help but grin.

 

_Nightmares are just dreams that you don't believe in... Believe the best in everyone..._

 

Such sugary sweet sentiments would normally sicken him.

 

But Sophie.... She was an angel. He was sure of it. How else had she managed to charm him, the great and terrible Gore? And she'd enchanted the Queen, the rarely-seen treasure of the Capital. She fucking called him Daddy, for shit's sake.

 

To be honest, Gore wasn't sure how he felt about his sister's door friend being the Queen. Nobody really knew why the Queen had vanished, hell, people didn't even seem to be sure if he _had_ vanished. The King hadn't made any kind of announcement made, and it was only rumors filtering in from the Royal Guard and the castle staff that led the general population to believe the Queen had vanished from his hospital bed.

 

And then, his sister had almost randomly come across him. And of all the things she could've done, Tori had started spouting out knock-knock jokes! It was hard to believe the King's 'gem' had the same sense of humor (or lack thereof) as his sister.

 

You learn something new every day, he supposed.

 

Like the fact that humans could be okay. And cute. And so, so small. Gore often found himself fascinated with how fucking small the little brat was. Monsters tended to be big, oversized, dangerous predators (The Queen being a very rare exception, hell, he was barely bigger than the kid if the glance Gore had gotten of him was any indication). Sophie was practically half his size!

 

“Gore!” She was looking up at him from the sofa, those big green eyes wide and full of innocence that had somehow managed to stay intact despite the time she'd spent around he and Tori. “Can I have some milk, please?”

 

He snorted. “Sure thing, squirt, And we'll get some food into you, too.” He glanced at his sister out of the corner of his eyes, wondering if he could make a move for the pie she was still holding.

 

“No, Gore. Real food. The kid needs to recover, not gorge herself.” Tori scolded as though she could read his mind.

 

“Then can _I_ have some?”

 

“Sure,” Tori smirked. “After dinner. I am making snail soup.”

 

“Man, fuck you and your snails.”

 

“You could always go to Chillby's if you don't like my cooking.” Tori said frostily, walking into the kitchen to return the pie to the fridge.

 

Gore shuddered. He _despised_ Chillby's. So much _**grease**_! He'd take snails over the elemental's horrid cooking _any_ day. “Whatever, Tori.”

 

Her musical laughter floated from the kitchen, and was joined by Sophie's giggles.

 

1234567890

 

Sans woke up alone, with the blanket tucked gently around him. He didn't move from his position curled against the wall as he took stock of himself, expecting a bunch of injuries and pain from the night before. But there was nothing. No pain, no soreness. Just a content warmth permeating his bones-- A feeling he recognized.

 

Healing magic.

 

Papyrus must've healed him before he woke up. And... apparently tucked him in.

 

Sans wasn't sure how to feel about that. It felt less like a gesture of love and more like a move designed to keep Papyrus's new toy in one piece and to manipulate him into thinking Papyrus still cared about him. Or it could be that it really was a gesture of love and Sans was just paranoid.

 

This was so complicated.

 

And maybe he was just overthinking things. After all, his brother was clearly... Unstable. He'd always been a little off-kilter, overly possessive and violent, but the last two years had obviously changed Boss quite a bit.

 

Sans sat up, looking around his prison. He was still chained to the wall, and the room was still horrifying and stifling. He wasn't entirely sure how to feel about this entire mess. On the one hand, he _had_ run off, and despite everything that his brother had done to him, Sans didn't hate him. Sans _couldn't_ hate him. Maybe he really deserved this, and knew it subconsciously, and that's why he wasn't fighting back. Or maybe he was just too afraid to protest.

 

Maybe it was a little of both.

 

It didn't matter. Sans's own feelings on the situation weren't going to change it. And yet, he didn't think he could handle this.

 

He was so _scared_. Real, genuine fear. It was one thing to simply get dusted, at least it would be over quickly. But this room... It would kill him slowly. And whether he deserved it or not, Sans didn't want to die. Slowly or otherwise.

 

He stood up and looked around. The shreds of his robes had been removed from the floor, and there was something bright red and black folded on the nightstand.

 

He was afraid to look. But.... Papyrus would probably be annoyed if he came back to the room and found that Sans had ignored the 'clothes' obviously laid out for him.

 

With a weary sigh, he lifted them up, cheeks burning at the polka-dot lingerie. It was even skimpier than he'd feared.

 

The bottoms were easy enough to slide on, but he spent a good minute trying to figure out how to put the top on with the chain in the way, before he realized it snapped shut in the back. With another put-upon sigh, Sans worked the top on.

 

Avoiding looking down at himself for fear of actually seeing what he was wearing, Sans climbed back into bed. If he was going to be restricted to the bed, he may as well sleep.

 


	16. Cry Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans gets mad.
> 
> This is not as productive as one would hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can all blame Sora_Tayuya (as often is the case) for the ending of this chapter.
> 
> On a happier note, I'd like to thank LizwiddaZ for their oneshot alternate ending to Sunshine, which can be found here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7518920
> 
> You can find the oneshot I wrote in response here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7520209 Which covers the same events from Sans's perspective.
> 
> I'd also like to thank Skyriazeth, who worte Paper Planes, which I already plugged in another chapter, but here's the link again: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7494420
> 
> And lastly, a thanks to Meaiku, who did some amazing fanart, which you can find here: http://insanityallegra.tumblr.com/post/147359400605/meaiku-dont-worry-sans-i-will-make-sure-you and here: http://insanityallegra.tumblr.com/post/147411587375/meaiku-sans-are-you-ready-to-behave

Sans woke up to the sound of the bedroom door creaking open. He sat up cautiously, watching as Papyrus entered with a plate of food.

 

Remembering the humiliation he'd felt at being fed like a disobedient toddler, Sans tensed. He still didn't want to anger his brother, but there was no way his remaining specks of pride could handle that being a regular thing.

 

“Good afternoon, Sans!” Papyrus said, much more brightly than Sans was expecting. “I brought you some lunch!” Sans could see his eyes roaming over his bones and flushed, remembering the ridiculous 'outfit' he had on.

 

Sans attempted to respond, but forgot the spell still active on his fucking collar. He scowled darkly.

 

“Seems you woke up grumpy.” Papyrus said levelly, sitting on the bed and gesturing for Sans to sit on his lap.

 

The smaller of the two snapped. So much _shit_ had happened over the last several days. Sophie leaving and his mental comparison to Papyrus, being captured, that _mortifying_ public blowjob, and then the 'walk' through Snowdin. His time in the dungeon. Being chained to the wall. The _motherfucking_ silencer. Being fed like a fucking baby. This shit-eating _room._

 

He wasn't happy. The anger boiled over, eclipsing the fear and reason and guilt and all the conflicting, confusing feelings.

 

Sans shook his head, glaring at his sibling, eye sockets dark.

 

Papyrus tutted. “Sans, don't be difficult. Come here.”

 

_fuck you_. He shot the King the bird, gritting his teeth. He was probably going to fucking regret this little tantrum. But part of him hoped that the outburst would snap Papyrus out of his delusions, like it did before his escape, when they'd made their little compromise.

 

The bigger monster reach over, grabbed the chains linking his wrists to his collar and yanked him over. Sans let out a silent cry of pain as his sensitive cervical vertebrae were bruised by the rough treatment, but he held his scowl. He was mad, dammit!

 

“Stop misbehaving, _now_ , Sans.”

 

Sans pointed angrily at his throat.

 

“And let you spit all sorts of rudeness you surely don't mean at me? I think not.”

 

Sans attempted to pull away, yanking against the chains with all he had. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get his anger across. _let me go!_

 

When Papyrus pulled him close again, Sans went for broke.

 

1234567890

 

Honestly, Sans was just being so uncooperative. Papyrus had hoped he wouldn't actually have to punish his brother; he'd hoped the threat of it would be enough to keep his brother in line.

 

Sans was, after all, quite fragile. Even more so nowadays.

 

Speaking of which, he really should check Sans. But that could wait until he got the other to eat.

 

When he started fighting to get away, Papyrus just pulled him close again.

 

And the little bitch had the gall to _bite_ him.

 

Thoughts of calmly coaxing his little gem into eating flew out the window. He would _not have_ this disobedience.

 

With a deft flick of his magic, the lock attaching Sans's collar to the chain connecting him to the wall fell away, and Papyrus smoothly set the plate of spaghetti on the bedspread and hefted his Queen over his shoulder in one motion.

 

Sans kicked and beat him weakly on the scapula with his small, chipped fists. When that didn't so much as make the King flinch, he tried biting again, latching onto one of Papyrus's ribs with his sharp teeth. With a noise born partly of pain but mostly of anger, Papyrus simply tossed him into the closet, slamming it shut and locking it.

 

He could hear Sans beating his fists on the door, and then slamming his entire body against it. The elder of the two knew the door would hold, of course, it had been made to withstand attacks from him, his small sibling didn't have a chance to break it down with no magic.

 

So instead of worrying about the door, Papyrus started setting up Sans's punishment while he let the other calm down during his time out.

 

1234567890

 

It didn't take long for Sans's anger to simmer down into despair. Now he was sore from beating on the door, his neck felt chafed from the collar rubbing and pulling against it, and he'd angered Papyrus, all because he couldn't keep a handle on his emotions... He felt like he was having more mood swings than Undyne during an anime! There was just too fucking much happening, and everything was giving him conflicting thoughts and emotions.

 

With a silent sigh, he curled into a ball in the corner of the closet. He couldn't hear anything outside, so Sans could only assume that the little cell had been soundproofed.

 

That, or Papyrus had just left after locking him in here, which seemed unlikely.

 

_This fucking sucks_...

 

He wasn't sure how long had passed before the door swung open, but his body was telling him he was getting hungry, and he was getting cold as well by the time the lock clicked. Without a word, his brother snatched him by the wrist and dragged him out the door. Sans didn't fight, but he was still visibly upset.

 

To Sans's surprise, Papyrus took him into the living room. He'd only gotten a couple of glimpses of it the night before, but it was set up differently today. The fireplace was lit, casting an eerie glow on the entire room. Most of the furniture had been pushed away to the edges of the room, leaving only a metal contraption set up in the center of the room.

 

It had four cuffs set into it, two near the floor and two slightly above and forward from them. When Boss began pushing him onto it, his ribs and skull were lying on a cushion in the center, so that when his brother cuffed his wrists and ankles into the device he was lying on it, bent over with no free movement that didn't pull painfully at his bones. Even when he held still, the strain of the collar and wrist chains pulled his face nearly flush to the cushion. His hips jutted out in a manner as though he were presenting them.

 

“You know Sans,” Papyrus said in a low voice. Sans could hear him fidgeting with something near the fireplace. Slowly, carefully, he turned his head, trying not to further pull at the collar. “I didn't want to have to do this to you. I was hoping you would be good.”

 

Sans finally got Papyrus in sight--

 

And his pupils shrank to pinpricks. _i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'msorryi'msorryplease **nononodon'tplease...**_ Sans thrashed in his restraints, blind panic overtaking him for a moment and blotting out the pain.

 

In his brother's hand, the now white-hot branding iron glowed ominously in the firelight.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *evil laughter*


	17. Play Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans makes some hard choices, Asriel does a thing, Gaster reflects, and we briefly flashback to Frisk on the Surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there was no update yesterday.

Sans' breath hitched as his coccyx brushed against the fabric, and though he could no longer hear it, he could still feel it. He adjusted himself once again on the dog bed in the little kennel, hoping against hope he could find a comfortable position to sleep in.

The biggest issue with that was the large circular mark now burned into his sensitive coccyx. It had hurt so much when Papyrus had applied it, Sans had screamed (silently) and thrashed until his wrists began to bleed bone marrow-- All to no avail as Boss simply held down his hips with one hand so he didn't mess up the mark.

The smaller of the two didn't even know what it looked like. He'd passed out afterward, and woken up chained in the dog kennel. The now-cold spaghetti had been piled in the food dish, and Papyrus was nowhere to be seen.

Sans had choked down the unappetizing meal as quickly as he could, not wanting to waste a chance to feed himself rather than being force fed. Not to mention he was really hungry, and his HP was probably stupidly low.

He'd made his decision.

Whatever love Papyrus had once held for him in that twisted black soul of his was gone, replaced with an obsession and a desire to dominate.

And even if his soul cried out in despair at the thought, even if it still felt like he loved Boss with all he was, Sans hated this corrupted version of his elder brother.

He _despised_ him.

He had no choice but to hate the one who'd hurt him so. Even if he loved him. There was no longer anything that remained of the brother Sans loved; so he would loathe what was left behind in the wake of his flight from the palace.

But there was nothing he could do to stop the treatment he was recieving. Papyrus had easily rendered him utterly helpless while he was too terrified and emotionally wrecked to resist or even so much as think straight. The only thing he could do was deny his brother the one thing he really seemed to want-- Sans's attention and affections. And doing that was obviously going to lead to pain.

So Sans had two choices-- He could be obtuse and fight back on every possible level... Or he could bide his time, pretend the branding had cowed him and play the obedient pet, possibly earning a bit more freedom but almost certainly lessening the chances of pain, and distract his sibling from searching for the human. If Papyrus never joined the hunt, Sophie might just be able to survive. Assuming, of course, that she was still alive.

She _had_ to be alive. For his own sanity. Protecting the human as best he could would give him a goal to focus on, a reason for his silent fight against the inevitable. A reason to survive and hopefully get out of this.

Because without a goal to focus on, Sans doubted he would last a week before Boss had him completely broken.

He briefly considered the idea of using Sophie's safety and happiness as a bargaining chip; Of trying to convince Papyrus to keep her alive, unharmed, and content in exchange for good behavior from his little trophy wife. But there were a plethora of ways that could backfire-- Sans could slip up in his act, and then Sophie would suffer the consequences, or Papyrus could decide to kill the innocent little girl for the simple crime of Sans caring about her, like he had done many times before, and that was when he wasn't so furious with Sans. Those were only a couple of the all-too-likely scenarios that crossed Sans's mind, and he discarded the idea without much more thought.

So he would wait. He'd do his best to behave, to cooperate with Papyrus no matter what he wanted; silently defying him because it was all a lie.

1234567890

Asriel's plan was going well. But things weren't progressing fast enough for his tastes. So, into the code he delved.

A little edit there, and that one was just a hair more aggressive.

A few replacements there, and this one just a bit more fertile.

A simple change here, and that one was a tad more knowledgeable on humans and their illnesses.

A few flipped scripts, and that one just a bit less excitable.

Soon... Soon. All of the pieces would be in the proper positions, and he could knock them down one. by. one.

Perfect.

1234567890

Gaster was annoyed. The code had been fucked with again. It was bad enough that he was a flower, but every single time that Royal brat decided to screw with the order of the universe, he could feel himself getting more and more unstable.

Soon, he'd either be Goopster instead of Gaster, or be shunted back into the void as his own corrupted code became incompatible with this world's.

Neither was a plesant option.

1234567890

***two and a half years previous***

Frisk lay on their back, staring up at the clouds.

" ** _The surface is beautiful, isn't it?_** "

"It would be better if you were here." Frisk muttered, knowing they'd just imagined the sardonic voice in the back of their mind, however accurate it sounded. Chara was gone, trapped Underground without Frisk, and without Asriel.

" _ **You shouldn't beat yourself up over it, Kitten.**_ "

Frisk snorted softly.

"Something wrong, Frisk?"

They glanced over at the flower planted among the lush grass.

"Nah... Just..."

"Thinking about Chara again?"

"Yeah... Just; I barely knew her! I keep finding myself obsessing over the little things... What did she look like? What color were her eyes? What was her favorite song? Did she brush her teeth every day? Twice a day? There's so much I don't know about her..."

Flowey hummed in understanding. "Well... I could probably answer all of those. But instead, let me ask a question of my own. Would knowing the answer to those questions change how you feel about my sister?"

Frisk's furious denial made him grin.

"Then it doesn't really matter, does it?"

Frisk blinked. "... Guess not."

Flowey laughed.

"You're pretty good at this whole 'relationship advice' thing."

"I try, kid."

"I think I'm technically older than you, Plant Man."

"I've been around for a lot longer than you!"

"But you were like, eight, when you died, right?"

"... Maybe."

"Seven, then."

"Fuck you."

They both laughed.

After a moment, Frisk spoke again. "I only want to know one thing, then."

"Yeah?"

"What color were her eyes?"

Flowey laughed. "The most beautiful shade of red I'd ever seen, kid."

Frisk laid back on the grass. Red, huh? Exotic.

Perfect.

Just like Chara.


	18. Heartbeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans's Bad Time gets worse, and Sophie, Tori and Gore _finally_ set off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there was no update yesterday; I was really busy.

Papyrus entered the bedroom to see Sans, curled into his pet bed and watching the doorway. His eyelights shrunk when the King entered, but he sat up and smiled nervously, waving slightly at his elder sibling.

Good. He was adjusting. Adapting to his new role. Papyrus was almost proud.

He walked over to the cage and slipped a hand through the bars, rubbing the top of Sans's head affectionately. He grinned when Sans leant into the touch. When he pulled away, the Queen gave him a longing stare.

"I'm afraid, Sans, that you'll have to stay there for tonight. Perhaps this will teach you not to bite me again?"

Sans nodded so rapidly it was almost comical.

"Not to struggle and fight?"

More nodding.

"Good. I'll let you out in the morning."

Sans frowned slightly, but nodded again, lying back down in the pet bed. Papyrus made his way to the bed, already missing the feeling of his brother's tiny body curled against his.

1234567890

The next morning, Sophie was finally ready for traveling. Tori wasn't entirely sure why she was so certain of it, but all of the signs of her illness had faded to the point it was safe to leave for Waterfall.

"Okay, ladies." She said, looking between Gore (who was scowling darkly now) and Sophie (who was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet). "I can blip us to a point roughly halfway through Waterfall, but after that, we will have to go on foot for a while, because I will have to wait for my magic to recharge." If she were just taking herself, there would've been no issue at all, and if she were just taking Sophie, she could _probably_ make it all the way to the Judgment Hall. But Gore insisted upon coming along, and they would most likely need his help, so to Waterfall they would go. "I am going to be too tired to be of any help; Gore is probably going to have to carry me for a while after that."

The pair of children (only one of which was an _actual_ child) nodded. Most of this had already been planned out while the child was ill, they were simply taking the time to go over it once more before leaving.

"If we run into Undyne, Gore will have to stall her – while Sophie flees. I highly doubt her... methods of fighting... will work against that particular blood-starved psychopath."

Sophie pouted, but nodded. Considering the girl seemed to want to make friends with everyone she came across, Tori was a bit suspicious of how easily she'd given in to being told to run as fast and as far as she could if Undyne showed up.

"Okay, last minute checks." Gore broke in. "What do you have in your inventory? Healing items? Armour?" He looked over at the child.

"Uh-huh! Mustard, Monster Candy, Bicicle, Bicicle, Vice Cream, Vice Cream, Stick, and a Bandage. Black Coat's equipped." She smiled brightly, hugging herself.

"No weapons? I thought I told you to equip a weapon?"

Sophie pulled out the stick and waved it around a bit. Gore snorted. "Well, you might get Undyne to die laughing if you went against her with _that_. I'll be right back." He headed into the kitchen.

"Why do you have a bottle of mustard, child?" Tori asked curiously. It's not that it was strange for her to see monsters eating straight condiments (she did it herself, for star's sake), but she was pretty sure humans didn't generally do that.

"Daddy gave it to me." Sophie shrugged. "He likes it."

"Really." Tori hummed thoughtfully, resolving to keep that in mind. Perhaps some of her recipes could be adjusted...?

"Uh huh." Sophie grinned, and nodded. Gore left the kitchen toting a long, serrated knife, and a slice of pie.

"Gore! How many times-"

"It's not for me, Tori." Gore cut her off. He shoved the knife into Sophie's hands. "Equip this." Then he did the same with the pie. "And replace that stick with this in your inventory."

1234567890

Frowning at the knife, Sophie obediently replaced the stick and equipped the weapon. She didn't have to use it, and it _did_ free up the inventory slot while keeping Gore happy...

*Attagirl. Pick your battles.

"Are we ready to go, now?" Sophie asked tentatively, looking back and forth between the goat monsters.

"I do believe so." Tori said softly, taking her hand in one large paw, while Gore took the other paw.

There was a moment of disconcerting blackness, and then they were in a beautiful cavern filled with blue flowers, whispering quietly to one another. Tori collapsed into Gore's arms. With a grunt of effort, he pulled her into his arms bridal-style.

Sophie spun around, eyeing the lovely cavern in awe. She could hear rushing water, and the ceiling sparkled with more of the glowing stones that so illuminated the Ruins. But here they shone a bright blue instead of the vague pinks and purples of the Ruins.

It was _breathtaking_.

1234567890

Sans lay on the bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

Everything hurt. If it weren't for the silencer, he'd probably have been screeching in agony. He had several broken bones, with barely an inch of him left undamaged from Papyrus's morning 'session'. It had started out as just some fairly comfortable sex, but partway through, Boss had suddenly seemed to _snap_ , and everything went up to eleven. Suddenly Sans was being pounded into from behind, and Papyrus was slamming him against the wall and the headboard, snapping bones on purpose and laughing when he started to cry.

After he was finished, Papyrus had simply left Sans lying on the bed, broken and bleeding.

He could feel something warm and magic-based just below his rib cage, but it hurt too much to move, so he didn't bother checking on it. It was probably just Papyrus's cum, anyway. And he'd rather not think about that.

The only thing keeping him from breaking down completely was the idea that Sophie was out there somewhere, and he was buying her time to figure out how to get through the barrier with no Boss Monster souls.

At that thought, his own soul pulsed slightly, trembling as though it was afraid.

He wondered what it could mean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hums*


	19. Sippy Cup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans discovers something that can't possibly end well.

Asriel noted the new addition to the code and smirked, resetting Papyrus's code back to default. It wouldn't do to have him be too rough with the Queen at a time like this, now would it?

 

1234567890

 

Sans heard the door open and shuddered, wincing and keening silently as the movement aggravated his injuries. After spending most of the day as still as possible, he'd had a lot of time to replay the events of the night before in his mind's eye. 

 

Playing the docile pet had suddenly become simultaneously more difficult and less complicated. 

 

While being branded like property had only made him angry, the last night had terrified him. It had proven to him without a doubt that Papyrus was irrational and insane and Sans was absolutely  _terrified_  of him. 

 

So, on the one hand, he had no real intentions of disobeying. Making Papyrus angry was not high on his list of Things He Thought Were a Good Idea. 

 

On the other hand, if Papyrus realized he was only cooperating out of a combination of fear and intent to distract him from looking for Sophie, things would go downhill faster than a Temmie would run from an Aaron. 

 

Footsteps made him barely turn his head, silently whimpering in pain. Papyrus slowly came into view, looming over Sans on the bed with an inscrutable expression. The smaller of the two shrunk back just a little tiny bit. 

 

But the King's hands simply lit up with lime green healing magic, lighting up the nearly dark room. Papyrus started with his legs and moved up slowly, making certain to get every crack, every cut, every little bit of pain. Sans sighed in pleasure as the pain was replaced with a safe feeling and a soothing warmth. 

 

He felt a little better. 

 

Papyrus paused briefly at the bit of oddly-still warm magic where Sans's 'belly' was, before quickly moving on to Sans's ribs. Sans, practically drunk on the healing magic, didn't notice. He was too busy leaning into the comfortable warmth and secure feeling being freely provided by his sibling. 

 

Ribs, both arms, his neck, his skull. All of them were encased in the lovely magic, one by one, until Sans was no longer in any pain. Papyrus smiled, then, and finally,  _finally_ , suppressed the spell on his collar as he sat the smaller brother in his lap and began to feed him his dinner. 

 

Sans didn't speak at first, just accepted the bite of what looked like rice without fanfare. Then, quietly, "boss? m'really tired..." The words were practically slurred, Sans leaning contently against his brother in a way he hadn't since before Papyrus became king. 

 

If it weren't for the false feelings of safety and warmth and love that permeated his bones, Sans was certain he'd be having a panic attack right now. But the residual effects of his brother's magic simply made him feel content. 

 

Papyrus nodded, petting the top of his head. "Finish your dinner and you can sleep."

 

Well, that sounded like an okay deal. The King continued to feed him for a few minutes,  and Sans gradually felt the magic wearing off. 

 

He didn't want it to. It was so much better to just... Not... Think. So much easier. 

 

But the fear was coming back. The disgust. The discomfort. 

 

He forced himself to keep up the tired, contented act, though. Papyrus really seemed to like him like that; he was petting and snuggling him while he ate. 

 

Eventually, the plate was clear and set aside. Papyrus allowed Sans to curl up next to the wall while he took it from the room. 

 

Sans took the chance to look down at the magic still hanging around below his ribcage.

 

No. 

 

No...

 

It couldn't be... 

 

He stared at the tiny, off-white inverted heart inside of a little bubble of red magic; connected to his own soul with several strands of red magic. 

 

A souling... A tiny, innocent little future monster who had no idea what they were in for. 

 

Stars. He was so fucking dead, Papyrus was gonna kill him-- No, worse, he was gonna destroy the little souling! Sans rested a hand on the little simulated 'womb', tears welling up in the bottom of his sockets. 

 

He didn't think he'd ever end up with a souling. It wasn't exactly common for a male monster to carry a child, it was hardly unheard of. Since monster conception was entirely magic-based, gender didn't matter. It was all in the emotions, not the organs. And a monster's magic would decide on the safest way to carry the child. In the case of skeletons, that way was extremely similar to their human counterparts. The empty space in front of their spine, below the rib cage and above the pelvis, in an artificial womb.

 

But he'd never thought that he'd have a child because he'd been told over a decade ago that his magic was incapable of conception-- Doctor Gaster had told him he was completely barren! It was why Papyrus had felt it safe to rape him with abandon, despite the high chances of a souling forming from the raging emotions during the act!

 

Papyrus didn't want children, he never had. So Sans was sure this little ball of magic was not going to survive very long. The thought terrified him. Not because he'd always wanted a child (he'd always been pretty neutral to the idea), but because the little one was innocent. And Papyrus would probably rip it right from his body. It would never see the glowing stones, it would never get a chance to breathe its first breath, never be able to make something of itself... All because it's mother was too weak to fight back against its father.

 

And... And if Papyrus actually _wanted_ the child? I-if he wanted to keep it, and raise it as his heir... Sans shuddered at the thought, staring down at the little orb of thin red magic, watching the soul bob slightly in its prison. Well, it wouldn't be innocent then, either. It would learn the horrors of this place, and most likely be brought up to revel in them. Sans doubted his brother would let him so much as see it after it was born, let alone let him have any say in how it was raised.

 

And there was a third option, which was somehow both better and worse, if extremely unlikely. Papyrus would let him keep it, but then they would _both_ be locked away like this, mother and child trapped together for all eternity. And Sans would have to raise it in what was basically a gilded cage, like some macabre zoo exhibit.

 

It was so unfair. Both for him, and for the child. There was no good option, but the more Sans thought about what the child could grow to be, or the life it could be forced to live, the more he hoped the King would abort it before it grew any more aware of the world around him.

 

Sans remained on his side, stroking the artificial womb absently, staring off into space as he contemplated all the fresh horrors this souling could bring to his personal hell. That was how Papyrus found him, a few minutes later, when he returned.

 


	20. Sunshine (Go Away Today)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit goes down.

Sans didn't look up as Papyrus sat on the bed. He didn't even seem to notice his sibling. The taller skeleton watched his smaller sibling stare into the distance, absently stroking the small ball of magic.

 

 

From his body language, it looked like Sans seemed to want to keep it. 

 

The King had been thinking about what to do with the souling for most of the day. 

The option to simply rid himself of it was there, but he was a bit concerned that if Sans wanted to keep the baby, killing it could result in another depression that would put his Queen's life in danger, and no dumb little compromises would change that. 

 

 

With a small sigh, Papyrus stretched out beside Sans, pulling his little lover flush to his body. Sans squirmed a bit until the top of his head was just beneath his sibling's chin, and he was curled into the larger chest belonging to the other. Once he'd made himself comfortable, Papyrus tugged the blanket over the two of them and began to pet him absently. 

 

"b-boss?" Sans murmured into his chest. 

 

"What?"

 

"wh-whatever i d-did to ups-set you this t-time, i-i'm sorry..."

 

Papyrus frowned. He knew something strange had happened the night before. He's lost all control of his emotions and simply felt so  _angry_  at Sans for all the trouble that the smaller had caused. But he hadn't meant to hurt him so badly! Just remind him of his place! But he could feel the delicate bones in his arms trembling, afraid of a repeat. He stroked the top of Sans's skull soothingly, but the tiny skeleton just shook harder.

 

Annoying. 

 

Still, Papyrus tried to keep his voice light and level. "It is alright, Sans. Just do not fight me anymore."

 

He felt the head pressed against his chest bob slightly in a little nod. With a small sigh, Papyrus went back to petting him. 

 

1234567890

 

  
_Splash_!

 

Undyne stared up in confusion at the tiny little human. Hotland's fires burned around her, but the child splashed her with another cup of water.

 

It didn't make any sense. 

 

First Gore fought to protect the kid-- Gore, her protégé, her friend, a traitor to monsterkind! 

 

_"You had so much potential!" Undyne screeched. "Why would you throw it all away for a human, Gore!? You could've been one of the greats, a hero of monsters!"_

 

_She remembered the look of determination in his eyes, the way his face had darkened, the way his voice was hard as steel. He had stood in between her and the child and his exhausted sister, sword at the ready and in an all-too-familiar stance that told her he wasn't here to simply spar. "Because, Captain," he'd said simply. "It's the difference between what is easy... And what is right."_

_And he'd attacked her._

_It was with a heavy soul that Undyne knocked him unconscious so he wouldn't have to feel himself crumble to dust around her spear._

_She'd then stalked over to his barely conscious  sister and done the same._

_The penalty of treason was death. They were traitors, pure and simple._

_So why did she feel so awful?_

 

The girl had led her on a winding, tiring jaunt all the way through Waterfall. For such a tiny little thing, she had quite a bit of stamina! And so they'd made it to Hotland. 

 

And Undyne had collapsed, the heat and exaustion taking their toll. 

 

And the girl... Was helping her?

 

  
_Splash_!

 

Undyne stared up at her, uncomprehending. 

 

Why?

 

Why would she help someone trying to kill her?

 

Why would she smile so brightly? 

 

Why would Gore protect her so desperately? Why would she be cause to betray all that monsters stood for?

 

Undyne didn't understand. 

 

She wanted to shake the child. To torture her until she explained. She should have just run her through with a spear. 

 

Instead, she just walked away. 

 

1234567890

 

Sophie kept moving, urged ever onward by Frisk and Chara. The pair didn't think it was safe to remain in one place to wait for Gore and Tori, and so Sophie continued her journey without them. 

 

Neither of her current passengers wanted to be the one to say that Tori and Gore were probably gone for good. 

 

1234567890

 

Days passed. 

 

Sans found himself conflicted on how to feel. Papyrus was being much less rough on him, though the rapes had not stopped and he was still expected to allow his sibling to feed and dress him like a demented doll or puppet. The chain remained tightly attached to the wall, and he remained locked away. But the King was much gentler in his handling. He was making sure to feed Sans three large meals a day, and when Sans timidly mentioned that he really  _really_  wanted mustard and strawberries on toast, he found it in front of him within five minutes. 

 

And all of this led to a confused skeleton who could only come to the conclusion that Papyrus wanted to keep the baby. He was still afraid of the life it could end up living, but had accepted that what would happen, would happen, no matter what he wanted. He supposed the best he could hope for would be that it wouldn't be locked away, and that he would be allowed to watch it grow. 

 

But he didn't have any say. He had to accept that now, before it was born and his heart ended up broken again. 

 

Whatever would happen, it would happen soon. Monster pregnancies were extremely short. 

 

1234567890

 

The Lab had been empty, its occupant having left a note on the door stating that they had gone shopping. So Sophie had simply passed through. 

 

The puzzles in Hotland had surprisingly been dormant, and so it was easy to get through-- It was just that there was a very long way to go, and it was slow going. Her trip through Hotland had taken almost four days. 

 

The CORE was frightening. Orange and blue lasers fired out from the walls and nearly random intervals, and Chara had to take control of her body to get them through. It seemed the former princess was very adept at predicting when and which lasers would fire and acting accordingly, moving through orange and freezing for blue. 

 

Sophie could feel the end of her journey coming soon. 

 

1234567890

 

It was a girl. Sans laid on the couch in the living room, exausted but inexplicably proud of himself, a bundle of soft red blankets lying in his ribcage. She was lovely, with bones as white as porcelain and big round eye sockets with bright red pupils. Her tiny, delicate phalanges clutched at his clavicle as she burbled happily. 

 

Papyrus had delivered her, much to Sans's surprise. He supposed that the King had decided to study healin after his escape, probably because Sans had been able to trick the Royal Physician with a few simple cantrips. 

 

His brother was staring at the baby, expression unreadable. Sans wondered if he was thinking about what to name her. Or perhaps he was disappointed she wasn't a boy? Sans hoped not. She was beautiful. 

 

"sofia." He muttered. He wanted to call her something to remind him of Sophie, while allowing her to have her own identity in his heart. Maybe Boss would let him name her that, maybe he'd take a shine to it.

 

"Is that what you wish to call her, Sans?" Papyrus said neutrally. 

 

Pupils wide with hope, Sans nodded and gave him the best pleading look he could muster. 

 

"Then Sofia she shall be. I will admit I hadn't thought of names for if we turned out to have a Prin _cess_  on our hands."

 

Sans nodded. 

 

"But she is quite lovely, is she not?"

 

He smiled up at Papyrus, bouncing the baby in his arms a bit. 

 

"A fine heir she'll make, with proper instruction."

 

Smile wavering slightly, Sans nodded again. Papyrus pressed a clinking kiss to his forehead. "Thank you, Sans."

 

Sans shivered, wondering what he'd brought this innocent into the world to face. 

 

1234567890

 

Sophie stood in the entrance to the vast, ornate hallway, feeling anxious. 

 

Something was wrong. 

 

Her footsteps echoed off the walls as she took it step by step, exaustion permeating her body but the voices in her mind urging her onwards, filling her with determination. 

 

Roughly in the center of the hallway, she heard a noise behind her, and turned. 

 

The entrance was blocked off by a wall of strange, rainbow magic. 

 

"Hello, human."

 

With a gasp, Sophie whirled. 

 

Before her was a goat monster, like Gore or Tori. 

 

But he had black markings on his face, and his eyes were glowing with dark red light. 

****

**_*Asr-_ **

 

*-iel!

 

Frisk and Chara shrieked the name at the same time. Sophie clutched at her skull. 

 

"I am Asriel."

 

Sophie heard a ting, and looked down to see a bright red soul in front of her chest. 

 

**_*... Frisk?_** Chara sounded worried.

 

*I'll be okay.

 

The soul lit up with blue light as Asriel encased it in gravity magic. 

 

"It is only fair that I explain why you're going to die here, tonight."

 

Sophie felt her feet leave the floor. She could do nothing. This wasn't a fight-- Asriel's soul remained firmly within his body. 

 

The monster began to pace. "You see, I find myself in a rather unique position. Through a convoluted series of events, I stand before you... With no soul of my own."

 

Or maybe he just didn't have one. 

 

"I have a best friend. I led them through the Underground roughly four years ago. But after we escaped, together, my body began to destabilize. Eventually I was forced to return here to try and create a new body for myself. I succeeded, but at the cost of destroying the human souls I had on hand, and being trapped here, Underground.

 

"To get through the Barrier, you need two souls. A human soul, and a monster soul. I had neither." He gave a frustrated growl, and Sophie shivered. She could hear Chara and Frisk's angry muttering, but couldn't make it out. "So, I had to find some. Unfortunately, only souls belonging to Boss Monsters are stable enough to survive outside the host, an Frisk and I killed them all. And of course humans are pretty damn rare down here." He shot her a grin that was probably meant to be reassuring, but Sophie could only mentally compare it to that of a stranger offering her candy on the street. There was something... Off... In his eyes. 

 

"So I had to wait. I had access to... I suppose you could call it the 'code' of the universe, if you're comparing the universe to a computer. Not that I expect you to really understand what I mean, you're only a child, after all." He laughed. "By changing it around, I was able to bring some of the monsters Frisk and I had previously killed back, although some things were, to continue the analogy, corrupted. But none of their souls were usable. So I had to make a backup plan. And when you finally fell? All of the pieces began to fall into place."

 

He stalked towards her. "Just a few hours ago, Sans and Papyrus welcomed a new life into the world. And thanks to some subtle manipulation of the code, little Princess Sofia is a Boss monster. After I take your soul, I will kill her and escape to the surface." Sophie gasped, horrified. "And I'll finally have my best friend back." He tilted his head, like a curious child, that unstable smile making her skin crawl. "Do not worry, human. I promise you will not feel a thing."

 

More of that strange rainbow magic swirled around her like she was trapped within a tornado, spiraling closer and closer until it stopped short at a blood red shield. 

 

"What's this?"

 

"Do you really think they would approve of what you're doing, Asriel?" Frisk spat with Sophie's mouth. 

 

"What they do not know will not hurt them." More swirling magic joined the rest, and Sophie yelped as the bubble popped, and te red soul cracked in two, disintegrating into nothingness. 

 

Sophie screamed in horror as she realized that, that quickly, Frisk was simply  _gone_. 

 

"What?!" Asriel yelped. "How are you still-"

 

" _ **YOU BASTARD**_!" Chara shrieked to high heaven, no traces of Sophie's voice in her yell. " ** _DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU JUST DID_**?!"

 

"Ch-Chara?!"

 

" ** _YOU KILLED THEM! YOU WERE STUPID AND SELFISH AND YOU_ KILLED _THEM_**!" Sophie was forced to watch as knives made of red light formed around them, and, with a flick of her wrist by Chara, flew at the monster. " _ **I LOVED THEM AND YOU KILLED THEM! YOU! MY BROTHER!**_ " Tears traced down Sophie's flushed cheeks, an she wasn't sure who they belonged to. " _ **FRISK IS GONE AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! I HATE YOU, ASRIEL! I HATE YOU**_!"Attack after attack flew directly at the shellshocked monster and struck true. It was only after Chara began screeching about how much she hated him that he reacted. His eyes darkened, and he began firing back at her with the rainbow beam. 

 

Sophie was terrified. 

 

And when the light struck Chara's red soul, and it, too, cracked in half and vanished into the ether, Sophie fell to her knees and began to cry. 

 

It wasn't fair.

 

She only wanted to help her Daddy. 

 

She only wanted to Save him. 

 

Why?

 

Why couldn't she save him?

 

The rainbow light washed over her. 

 

As promised, there was no pain. 

 

Only darkness. 

 

1234567890

 

With a smirk, Asriel stepped forward, beginning to bend down to pick up the little green soul lying innocently on the red tiles. 

 

Before he could get there, however, a spike-covered vine shot straight through him, then violently snapped upward, nearly tearing him in two. 

 

Asriel Dreamurr crumbled to dust before he could even realize what hit him. 

 

1234567890

 

Gaster very carefully scooped the soul up in a scrap of cloth with his vines. 

 

He wished he could simply take the dammed thing, fuse with it, and not have to worry about it, but he was falling apart at the seams. It was useless to him; to fuse with the soul would only make him degenerate faster. 

 

He wished he hadn't followed his whims and tripped Sans. Maybe something would've gone differently. Maybe things would've turned out better. 

 

Maybe he wouldn't be feeling his sins crawling down his metaphorical back. 

 

But there was nothing he could do, now, about the past. That was why it was the past.

 

Nodding to himself, the rapidly melting flower tugged the coat off of the girl's unblemished body. Deftly, he tore open a small slit in the inner lining of the jacket and slipped the little green heart inside. Then, using his own vines, he stitched it shut.

 

Task complete, Gaster sank into the dirt, reappearing in and office to snag some paper and a pen, and then just outside of the entrance to Sans's tower room. He scribbled out a quick note, and tied the coat up into a bundle with several braided vines. He knocked on the tower door three times then popped back into the dirt, utterly spent. 

 

1234567890

 

Annoyed, Papyrus stomped into the hall. Nobody was to knock on the tower doo--

 

Why was there a coat on the floor? With a note on it?

 

He lifted the note and scanned it. 

 

' _To Sofia, from Grandfather_.'

 

"Gaster..." Papyrus muttered, looking up and down the hall. "Fucker. Can't even leave us alone when he's dead!" He undid the bundle and stared at the replica of Sans's old coat. 

 

With a sigh, he brought it into the living room. 

 

1234567890

 

**_*Sixteen Years Later*_ **

 

"Are you sure about this, Sophie?" 

 

_*Yes._

 

Sofia nodded, taking the pilfered key and turning the lock over.

 

Slowly, quietly, the Princess entered her parent's chambers. 

 

She'd met her mother so few times in her life that she could count the number of visits on one hand. And on the most recent of those visits, on her sixteenth birthday just a few scant days before, her friend had had enough. Sophie had begged Sofia to give him Mercy when she saw him. 

 

And there was only one real mercy for somebody so utterly broken. 

 

Her parents were in the bed, her father clutching her mother in his sleep. 

 

Even in sleep, Mother looked miserable. And when he was awake, Sofia knew he didn't speak, didn't move. He just stared blankly at the wall and mechanically obeyed orders.

 

It was better this way. 

 

Sofia summoned several bones, and drove them through the two white souls, one a fractured gray mass, the other a blinding white. 

 

As her parents crumbled in their beds, the Crown Princess pulled her hood over her head. 

 

_*Thank you..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you guys know, this is THE END.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Little Things, as such things do](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7518920) by [LizwiddaZ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizwiddaZ/pseuds/LizwiddaZ)




End file.
